Kodak
by West of California
Summary: Naruto's a C-average student with an apartment all to himself, Sasuke's a rising photographer with a seething hatred for his brother, and Sai's a bit jealous of how well they're getting along. SasuNaruSasu, SaiNaru, many pairings. High School AU. Complete
1. Take a Picture

**A/N: Hi, guys! This is chapter one of my new fic, and it's also the biggest undertaking I've ever, erm, undertaken, so I'm striving for perfection! If you see any typos, inconsistencies, or sections that read oddly, please don't hesistate to mention it in a review! Well, I won't ramble for too long, so... enjoy! :)**

**Disclaimer: I really don't own Naruto, I promise.**

* * *

Kodak

Chapter One

**Naruto Point of View**

"Can we go look at that skirt real quick, guys?" Sakura asked, pointing excitedly at a short jean skirt with a thick brown belt on display in the window of Rue 21. I took another slurp of my milkshake, which I'd gotten when we passed the mall's food court, and looked back at her with an eyebrow arched.

"You want _that?"_ I asked incredulously while shaking my head. "The stuff in there is all junk, anyway." She pouted, but turned away from the store.

"Ugh, my feet hurt! You guys wanna just sit and talk for a while?" Ino suggested. We all agreed, and our group of juniors, which consisted of Sakura, Ino, Shikamaru, Kiba, Hinata, and myself, plopped down on a row of benches. I dug around in my milkshake with my straw while Shikamaru told some sort of joke – I wasn't really paying attention – and took another gulp. Mmm, it was _so_ good. Milkshakes were almost as good as ramen! Unfortunately, I almost coughed it back up when Sakura and Ino both let out shrieks practically loud enough to shatter a window.

Looking up, I realized that I should have guessed right away what the source of the excitement was. Across from us, Uchiha Sasuke, A.K.A. the object of every girl at Konoha High's affection, was entering a music store with his friend, Gaara.

"He's just _so_ hot!"

"Gah! I know! He has the best hair!"

"And have you _seen_ his eyes?"

The two, who were big members in the unofficial 'Uchiha Sasuke Fan Club', continued to giggle and talk frantically about every aspect of the guy as if he were on display just for them. So, nothing new.

"I don't get it," I confessed. Ino and Sakura giggled again.

"You're just jealous!"

I frowned. "Yeah… not really, no."

The just shook their heads and laughed. I peeked around them at Shikamaru and Kiba, but they both gave me looks that plainly said that they understood about as much as I did. Hinata just looked down and smiled like she always did; she was a nice girl, but usually really quite. You never knew what she was thinking.

A few minutes later, after Sakura and Ino finally calmed down, we stood up and moved on, window shopping some more and walking into a few stores. Sakura shopped like there was no tomorrow. Hinata dragged us into the book store. Kiba tried to be funny and got yelled at by a mall cop. All in all, it was a pretty fun waste of 2 hours.

At around six, we started losing people. Ino had a headache, so Shikamaru opted to drive her home. I swear, those two were totally going to end up together. Kiba left next for his evening shift at Wendy's; hey, it was a job. Hinata started freaking out about her 7:00 weekday curfew, too, so she ended up leaving. Finally, it was just me and Sakura left. Sakura didn't have a license yet, so I let her finish up in Belks and then told her I'd give her a ride.

We had to do some serious rearranging in my trunk to fit all of her shopping bags, but we finally had them stacked nicely. She and I clambered into my front seat, and I pulled out smoothly.

"So, please explain to me," I began, "Why all of the girls like that Sasuke guy. I mean, he doesn't even seem to care that he has this _enormous_ group of stalker girls, and he keeps almost entirely to himself. Where's the draw?"

She put a finger to her lip. "I don't know, it's kind of hard to explain to a boy. There's just a… kind of 'cool feeling' to him. He's also brilliant, and a really talented photographer, too!"

I snorted. "Sounds like a pussy hobby."

She frowned. "It's not!" She added, "And there's just something kind of fascinating and alluring about 'the guy nobody knows', you know?"

"No," I admitted frankly. "So, again, where's the draw?"

She scowled. "What's up with that? You don't even know him!"

"Neither do you," I pointed out.

"…"

"I thought so."

I'd never say it out loud, but I was secretly a little curious about Sasuke myself. What was his problem? He had a million girls chasing after him all the time, and he didn't even acknowledge that they existed! And what was up with the fact that he spoke to almost _nobody?_ Did he think he was _better_ than everyone else? That _teme_ got on my nerves, and I hadn't even spoken to him yet!

I pulled up in front of the Haruno residence a few minutes later. Sakura quickly gathered her purse from the front, and I helped her with her enormous load in the back. "Sakura, isn't there a limit on your credit card?" I asked as I hefted a heavy paper bag full of clothes onto the ground.

She shrugged nonchalantly. "Guess I'll know when I hit it, huh?"

I waved goodbye to her as I pulled out, rolling my eyes. Her parents were probably going to chew her out for spending too much again, but looking back at her enormous three-story house and her parents' three shiny new cars, I doubted it would be too serious of a problem any time soon.

When I arrived at my apartment building, I sighed heavily before getting out of the car. I trudged up the stairs to my floor, pulled out my keys, and threw my school stuff down on the couch without a glance as I made my way toward the kitchen to seek out my ever-delicious ramen. I selected a plastic cup from my enormous stockpile and added some water, then stuck it in the microwave. Easiest dinner ever.

As I turned around, I noticed a piece of paper lying on my counter. When I picked it up, I saw that it was a letter from my uncle Kakashi, who must've been by earlier. It read, 'Rent for this month is paid. Your dirty clothes pile is starting to reek; do some laundry. Everything else seems fine. Need anything, call me. –Kakashi'

Kakashi was my weird uncle who took me in after the deaths of my parents. I couldn't remember them, because they both died before I was even two months old. Kakashi was great, but he was always quirky and happy. He went about things in a strange way and had the uncanny ability to be late for _everything_.

He was the coolest adult on Earth.

He noticed about a year ago that I was becoming really independent, so he made me an offer; he'd pay for an apartment for me if he was allowed to have a key and to come check on me at any time. How could I refuse? So, now I had my own apartment, which he paid for and managed half the time. It was great.

When the microwave beeped, I let the steaming noodles sit for a minute while I dug out a fork and poured myself some chocolate milk. I never said that I ate healthy. I stuffed a big bite in my mouth as I walked into the living room and pulled out my pre-calculus book. There was a test Friday, and I had worked my ass off this year to keep my grades good enough. No way one stupid test was going to drag my C average down!

I stared at the pages for what felt like hours. Mr. Asuma had bombarded us with a ton of new material the week before, and I needed to know it _all_. Basically, I had tonight and tomorrow night to study seriously, because I was a slacker and had waited until Wednesday to get down to business.

I copied formulas over and over in an attempt to drive them into my mind, and I scanned pages countless times. Finally, when my eyes were so tired that they watered, I blinked repeatedly and relaxed against the back of my couch, groaning. God, I hated studying. When I felt myself falling asleep, I shook my head and grabbed my materials, shoving them back into my school bag.

I walked the short distance to my bedroom, threw on some pajama pants, and headed lazily into the bathroom. I leaned my head against the cold wall and yawned before brushing my teeth lethargically; they probably didn't get too clean, but I doubted that it would kill me.

I fell unconscious at about the same time my head hit the pillow.

* * *

The next day, Sakura, Sai and I were eating lunch together in a little group. Sai was complaining about an essay that Ms. Kurenai had assigned earlier. Out of the blue, the cafeteria erupted in squeals. This time, I didn't even need to look up to know it was Sasuke walking in with Gaara and Neji; this happened every day, for some reason I still couldn't understand.

"Oh my God, he's just… gah!" Sakura cried happily, her fists clenched and eyes squeezed shut in an elated smile. I rolled my eyes and turned to Sai.

"So, Sai… what are you doing in art class, dude?" Sai took art on Tuesdays and Thursdays after school, and he was, hands down, the most incredible painter I'd ever met. He had this sketchbook he carried around with him, too, and it was absolutely full of sketches all the time. I think he probably went through one book per month at the rate he drew. He signed all of his pieces not with his name, but with his symbol, a little flower with rainbow petals.

Now, before saying 'that's gay', be aware that Sai is, in fact, gay. He thought that the idea of having a homo flower as his stamp would be funny, and I have to agree that the flamboyancy _was_ pretty entertaining.

"Well, you know, I've been working on that big oil painting for a while now. The one of the different vases?"

"Oh, yeah!" I remembered the sketch he showed me; it was really pretty cool. "You'll have to show me a picture when you finish, okay?"

He nodded and grinned. He was getting better about expressing emotions, which was great for him. I used to hate the guy, simply because he was just too horribly indifferent about _everything_. Then, one day last year, in science, I finally spoke to him. He was socially awkward to the extreme; I think somebody said he actually had something called Asperger's Syndrome. He was really withdrawn and isolated, but it was sad, because he was too nice a person to just be all by himself like that.

As we slowly became friends, he was a lot more comfortable with expressing himself freely and did well in most social situations. He was a favorite among my other friends, as well. Big groups made him nervous, however, and parties were pretty much living hell for him, but he was getting better.

Towards the end of lunch, Lee came over to us. "Hi, Sakura-san!" he cried as he sat next to her. Lee was really into that Japanese anime stuff, and for some reason, he felt the need to attach an honorific onto certain people's names.

She looked his way with an expression of disinterest on her face. "Oh. Hey, Lee… wait, what was that, Ino?" She picked up her tray and wasted no time in getting away.

Lee sighed sadly and propped his chin up on one arm. "Naruto," he began. "Why doesn't Sakura-san seem to like me at all?"

I smiled at him. He was a nice person, and it was a pity that Sakura resisted him so much. "Oh, don't worry, Lee," I assured him. "Sakura's just thick-headed. She really does think your sweet, I can tell; she's just caught up in some Sasuke-related fantasy."

He looked up. "You think I have a chance?"

I nodded. "Of course! One of these days, she'll realize that you're a great guy; you've just got to keep working at it."

He sat up a little straighter, a grin on his face. "_Arigatou_, Naruto-kun," he said before standing up to dump his tray. The bell was about to ring, anyway. I picked up my own lunch and headed for fourth period with Sai.

* * *

**Sai Point of View**

I sat a little ways away from Naruto in English. Miss Shizune droned on and on about Charles Dickens, and I sighed and buried my head in my hands. This was, undeniably, the most boring class at Konoha High.

I looked over at my blond friend to find him studiously scribbling notes in his atrocious handwriting. A small smile came to my lips as I watched. Naruto was always so driven; maybe that was one of the reasons I liked him so much.

I'd had a crush on Naruto since last year, when he dared to become close to me. I guess it's kind of like a fairy tale, when you look at it. I was depressed and alone, and then my figurative 'prince' came in and rescued me. I know it sounds stupid, but that's always been my favorite way to describe the situation.

The more I got to know Naruto, the more I realized what an amazing person he was. He was funny and compassionate and extremely determined, no matter what he was doing. His personality was flawless; I doubt that there's a person on this Earth that could dislike Naruto after getting to know him. He was everything that I wished I could be, but that didn't make me jealous. Rather, it made me admire him for those qualities.

I guess I've just… always viewed him as perfect. He _was_ perfect, and kind, and empathetic, and always willing to help out. There's never been another person I've been so close to, and he's one of few people who, in all honesty, didn't give two shits about my sexuality, lack of sociability, or any of my other prominent flaws.

It was nice just being around him, and some day I was going to tell him just how much I liked him. That is, if I ever stopped being a coward.

* * *

**Naruto Point of View**

I glared into the cold eyes of Kiba as I dribbled toward him with the ball between my feet. He stood, poised to defend, as I rapidly advanced across our tiny makeshift soccer field in the park. Just before I was about to shoot, I saw a smirk on his face. What could he mean by that…?

Shikamaru was suddenly right on top of me, trying to swipe the soccer ball away. "Sai!" I called frantically. "Look right!" He turned just as I passed the ball up to him, and with one touch sent it flying past Kiba and into the goal.

"Owned!" I cried as I shoved Shika away teasingly. He looked a little discouraged, and it felt oh-so-good to rub it in!

Finally, he punched me in the arm. "Shut up, you idiot. You're only winning by one." I cheerfully ignored the comment as I walked over to Sai.

"Great shot, man!" I said enthusiastically. He smiled modestly.

"Thanks."

Kiba rolled his eyes. "Yes, yes, victory for you guys. Now let's take a break; I'm beat." We all nodded. Our heavy breathing proved that Kiba was not alone.

I lowered myself into the cool grass and reclined with a sigh. The sun was setting in the distance, and I sat comfortably as I recovered, observing all of the different hues cast in the clouds as the sky turned bright orange. A soft strumming sound reached my ears, and I turned in the direction it was coming from.

I don't know why, but I just kept running into that Uchiha everywhere, didn't I? He was sitting on a park bench not too far off with Gaara, who was apparently trying to teach him some chords on the guitar. Amused, I watched as the redhead played a perfect chord, then handed his guitar to Sasuke. Almost as soon as he'd grabbed it, Gaara shook his head and readjusted his fingering. I smirked, perhaps a little pleased that there was something that guy couldn't do right off the bat.

I had to stifle a laugh when Gaara took the guitar back altogether, leaving Sasuke looking defeated. Gaara started to play something I didn't recognize, and I looked away, having lost interest.

I jumped when I heard a beeping sound next to me a few moments later. I was even more surprised when I rounded to find that Sasuke was crouching in the grass next to me, fiddling with his fancy camera. I managed to find my voice, but only after several seconds had passed.

"Uchiha… Sasuke? What are you doing?"

With a single glance upward, he murmured quietly, "Adjusting the contrast. Now shut up and go back to the way you were sitting." I was caught off guard by his commanding tone, so I just blinked and stared for a moment more before doing as he said.

A few seconds later, there was a shutter sound, and he stood up. I, too, pushed myself up to a standing position. He was beginning to walk away when I called, "Hey! Uchiha!"

He paused and slowly turned to face me. "Yeah?"

I wore a confused expression as I asked, "What was that all about?"

Sasuke shrugged. "I have to take several pictures with human subjects for my photography class. The way the lighting was when I happened to look over here was very picturesque, and I was inspired."

"Can I at least see it?"

He nodded and gestured for me to come stand with him. I didn't expect much; there was no way this guy could be as good as everyone claimed. He was probably just a poser, and the girls made him out as this prodigy just to create one more reason to worship him.

Then he pulled up the picture, and I realized that that theory was null and void.

It was obviously me sitting just off to the right, but you couldn't see my features; rather, it was my dark form from a side view, with the setting sun in the background illuminating the tops of several far-off trees and the grass. The colors were almost entirely black, dark green, and orange-yellow, and the dew in the grass closest to the camera when the shot was taken was clear and added to the beauty, but didn't distract.

It was an amazing photo. No way I'd ever let Uchiha know how much I liked it, though.

He hit the off button on the camera, and the screen went black. I looked at him to see if he'd speak again. After a moment, he quirked his head to the side a little and shrugged again. "Well… thanks," was all he said before heading back over to his friend.

Kiba came over to me and looked after Sasuke before asking, "What was that?" I just shook my head.

"Nothing important. Come on, let's finish our game."

* * *

Later that night, when I was supposed to be studying, I found that I couldn't concentrate. Damn that Sasuke; he wouldn't leave me alone! I was trying to focus on my pre-calculus, but my mind kept drifting back to the short encounter I'd had with him at the park earlier.

I don't know what held my interest. I guess it was that I'd been a little surprised by the way he acted; he wasn't really stuck-up like I'd expected. He actually seemed okay enough to me, which irritated me to no end. Now, not only did he have girls professing their love for him several times a day, but he also wasn't a total asshole? That wasn't how things were supposed to work! He was supposed to be a jerk, a _teme!_

And what was with that innocence? He acted like he walked up to people he'd never spoken to before every day and just randomly snapped a picture of them!

Then again, I'd learned from Sai that the artsy types could be a little out there, so maybe he actually _did_ do that.

"Ugh!" I cried in frustration as I slammed my pre-cal book shut. If I didn't do some studying soon, I was screwed on the test tomorrow! "Okay, Uzumaki," I told myself. "You're going to learn this stuff if it kills you!"

I stayed up for a little while longer, but even after my little pep talk, I still managed to fall asleep on my couch. You know, naturally. So, it was no surprise that I was sweating bullets when Mr. Asuma started passing out test papers in second period the next day. I think he noticed this when he placed my test on my desk, because he gave me an encouraging look before moving on.

When the man had finally made his rounds and all of the papers had been handed out, he took a quick glance at the clock before saying quietly, "You may begin."

With trembling fingers, I picked up the two sheets of the test, which had been stapled together, and began to look over them. I groaned inwardly and lost any shred of confidence I had when I realized that close to half of this stuff might as well be in a foreign language. I'd just have to guess.

My pencil was clenched tightly in my fingers, moving occasionally as I came to a problem I was sure of. When all of those were done to the best of my ability, I double-checked them before moving on and trying to make sense of the problems I didn't know. I ended up picking most of my answers at random. Yeah, like I said before, I was totally screwed.

Finally, after seventy long minutes in the stuffy room, the bell rang throughout the school that signified the end of second period. I sighed and dropped my head onto my desk. I definitely didn't do well.

After I dropped my test onto the pile on Mr. Asuma's desk, I walked out into the hall, popping my knuckles and hoping that, by some miracle, I didn't flunk. Sakura walked up to me as I made my way toward third period, which she had with me. "What's got you looking so worn out?" she asked, concern evident in her tone.

"Pre-cal test," I explained. She just nodded.

"You did fine, I'm sure," she told me, but I could hear the hollowness in the statement.

"Thanks."

We took our seats as we entered Mr. Iruka's history class, and I continued to complain. "I mean," I whispered as he began to lecture. "It was _all_ that new junk that he taught, like, last week!" She squeezed my shoulder.

"You're fine."

I laughed under my breath. "You can say that as many times as you want, but there's no way I'll believe it. And I was so nervous that I held my pencil too tight, and I'm pretty sure that my fingers are going to fall off!"

"Oh, you poor thing!" she said in a false pitying tone. I smiled a little, but when I looked up, I saw her gaze drifting toward Sasuke. All of a sudden, her eyes narrowed into slits, and I followed her stare until I saw the source of her agitation.

Elaine, some blonde girl on cheer squad with her, was sitting right next to Sasuke. "I'm going to kill her! Trying something like that…" Sakura muttered countless more threats under her breath, and I began to feel a little concern for the other girl. When I was actually starting to be a little afraid of this side of Sakura, and waved my hands in front of my body and tried to calm her down.

"Look, look, Sakura! He's not paying a bit of attention to her! Sasuke wouldn't go for a girl like that, anyway – she's a total ditz - so don't even bother getting worked up over nothing!" She seemed to become a little calmer, but I could hear her teeth grinding. In an effort to distract her from the situation entirely, I thought up a story as quickly as I could. "Did I tell you that I ran into Sasuke after school yesterday?"

She turned her keen gaze on me. "Really?" she asked, her tone beginning to sound normal.

"Yeah! He took a picture of me…"

By now, I had her hooked. She was a sucker for any story having to do with Uchiha, so I relayed the entire encounter for her. She seemed pretty fascinated.

"Oh! So you _did_ get the chance to talk to him? What was he like!"

I shrugged. "All right, I suppose," I grudgingly admitted. "I still don't get his fangirls, but whatever."

She grinned. "And you said he pretty much sucked at guitar?"

"Yep!" I replied happily, smiling at the memory of Gaara's hopeless attempts to teach Sasuke. "No, I mean, he really sucked."

She shook her head. "You should be ashamed that that makes you so happy."

"I can't take anything you say about that guy into consideration, though, since you blow off every single guy that approaches you because you're trying to save yourself for the one and only _Uchiha Sasuke_," I retorted. As I said Sasuke's name, I made big eyes and batted my eyelashes, imitating her.

For that, she punched me in the arm – hard. "Ouch!"

"Oh, just start taking notes, stupid."

* * *

Lunch passed without any interesting developments – unless you count Kiba trying to stick his fork up his nose 'interesting' – as did fourth period. As we were let out from Mr. Jiraiya's class, though, I was surprised to find Mr. Asuma walking toward me from down the hall.

"Hey, Mr. A!" I said happily when he was close enough to hear me over the roar of two hundred juniors changing classes. "What's up?"

He looked at me solemnly. "Naruto, I was wondering if I could talk to you for a second. I'll give you a late note for your next class." I had an ominous feeling about this, but I nodded and followed him into a mostly-empty hall.

"Naruto, I wanted to have a talk with you about the test this morning," he told me as I leaned against the wall.

The first thought that crossed my mind was, _oh, shit!_ "Y-yes? What about it?"

"Well… you made a grade that came as a surprise to me." He handed me my paper. On the front was a big red 'D-'. I groaned, disappointed in myself.

"I'm such an idiot!" I cried, letting my arms and the test drop to my sides.

Mr. Asuma shook his head. "No, Naruto, you really aren't. You have to work hard, but you're not an idiot by any means. That's why I wanted to talk to you; this semester has been so good for you! I thought you'd do so much better. What happened with this?"

I sighed. "Some of that newer material you taught… I just don't get it! I tried to study, but it doesn't make any sense."

He nodded and made a 'mm' sound, then looked off as if thinking to himself. When he turned back to me, he had a small smile on his face.

"I'll tell you what, Naruto. I know that you want to improve, and I've always seen a tremendous work ethic from you, so here's what we'll do. I'll let you re-take the test next Friday, and we'll average these two grades together. How's that sound?"

"Ah—Mr. Asuma! You're, like, the greatest teacher ever!" I cheered excitedly. He chuckled and ruffled my hair.

"I expect you to do much better if I give you this opportunity, okay? You should probably get a tutor for the next week, just to make sure, but it's up to you." I nodded, still smiling.

I followed him back to his classroom, and he jotted a quick note for my next teacher before sending me on my way. As I neared my next class, I thought about possible people who could tutor me.

Shikamaru was smart; he was the brightest out of all my friends, in fact. He took pre-calculus in first semester. He'd be a slack tutor, though. That lazy bum. Kiba… yeah, Kiba stopped caring about grades a while ago, so it'd be totally pointless to ask him. Sakura had cheer squad almost every day after school, and she was in trig, anyway. Sai, Ino, and Hinata were all also in different math classes. So, by the time I handed my teacher my late note, I had exhausted all possibilities of my friends helping me out on this one. Nice.

Who, then? I didn't want somebody I'd never spoken to before, but nobody in particular came to mind. I'd have to think on this one.

* * *

I was giving Sakura a lift again, and we were walking across the parking lot towards my car. She was telling me about lip gloss or something, I don't know. I looked around, and my eyes landed on a certain raven-haired photographer moving toward his blue Civic. Suddenly, inspiration struck. Sasuke was supposed to be some sort of genius, wasn't he? _And_ he took pre-calculus!

"I'll be right back, Sakura!" I announced before hiking my bag higher up on my shoulder and running to catch him, leaving her standing in the middle of the parking lot, looking very confused.

I caught up to him a moment later, panting and a little out of breath. "Uzumaki… Naruto, is it? What do you want?" I held up a finger as I wheezed for a second, doubled over. It was a big parking lot! When I finally caught my breath, I looked up and met his almost-black eyes.

"Hey, I wanna make a trade." He looked totally lost, so I continued. "You took my picture for your photography thing, right? Well, I want you to tutor me in pre-calculus."

Now, he just looked incredulous. "Okay… how is one picture a fair trade for tutoring for… how long?"

"Just 'til next week. See, Mr. Asuma is gonna give me a retest on that pre-calculus test we had today next Friday, and he suggested I get a tutor, and, well, you're smart, so…" I trailed off. He looked a little bored.

"Why?"

"Uhh… I'll pay you. A lot."

He sighed. "You don't have to do that… just, here."

He took out a piece of notebook paper, tore it in half, and sifted around in one of his book bag pockets. "You have a pen?" I pulled one out, and he jotted something down on the paper. When he handed it to me, I realized that it was his cell phone number. "Call me later, we'll work out a schedule." I nodded quickly, and without another word, he walked the last few steps to his car.

I returned to Sakura, who immediately asked, "What was that about?"

"Asked him to tutor me." I explained my retest situation as we hopped into my car. When she saw the paper in my hands, she inquired as to what it was.

"Oh. Sasuke's number," I replied nonchalantly. Her eyes bugged out of her head.

"_What?_ I've been trying to get that since freshman year! Can I…" she broke off as she reached over for the paper. The look on her face was a little creepy.

"No, Sakura!" I said, swiping the paper away. "I _won't _give you Sasuke's number."

She slumped in her seat, and I laughed as we pulled out onto the street.

* * *

**A/N: So, what did you think? Was it good? Bad? Horrible? Interesting? Boring? Tell me! Any question you have will be answered, as I reply to all of my reviews, as well. And, once again, please don't hesitate to mention any flaw you noticed in your review (which I hope that you leave, as I love them so!)**

**I'm thinking that updates will be around once a week, but if I get a good reaction I may bump it up to every four days - it all depends on you guys!**

**Well, thanks for reading!**

**-Slashy**


	2. Clubs and Cookies

**A/N: I hate this chapter I hate this chapter I hate this chapter! I hate it! Gah! Too many page breaks! Okay, I'm done raging, but seriously, feel free to flame this junk XD the others aren't quite so... bad ^^" lots of point of view changes and unexciting development in this one :( oh well!**

**Anyway, I'd like to thank everyone who reviewed last time! And, also, a big shout-out to all the people who've put this on story alert/faved, as well! You guys rock :D**

**Disclaimer:**

**Naruto - Masashi Kishimoto**

**Thnks Fr th Mmrs - Fall Out Boy**

**Boulevard of Broken Dreams - Green Day**

**This Story's Plot Line - Me ;)**

* * *

Chapter Two

Sasuke Point of View

I drove home slowly, thinking. That Uzumaki Naruto was a funny one, to be sure. Most people were afraid to even approach me because of my popularity – which I _still_ don't understand how I obtained – and he had the nerve to just walk straight up to me and practically _demand_ to be tutored.

It was drizzling when I arrived in front of my house, and I dug a folder out of my bag and used it as a makeshift umbrella as I sprinted for the door. As soon as I was inside, I collapsed on the couch, ready to enjoy the weekend and relax for the rest of the day. I started thinking about getting something to eat, but I was feeling too lazy to get up. Finally, my growling stomach prompted me to move my ass, and just as I was going into the kitchen, my phone started vibrating in my pocket.

After I dug it out, I realized that I didn't know the number. I answered hesitantly. "Hello?"

"Hey, Sasuke!" Naruto's voice blared through the speakers. Oh, yeah, he was supposed to call me.

"Umm, hey. So, about this tutoring thing…"

"Well, I'm gonna need a lot of help," he said, sounding a little embarrassed. It wasn't a surprise to me, however; he had never seemed like the particularly bright type.

We spoke for a while longer, and eventually we had a plan set up; I'd go over to his house tomorrow and the next day at around two and stay until four, and Monday through Thursday I'd follow him from school and stay until around five-ish.

Now, I had to tell Itachi. Ugh.

I really hated my older brother, Itachi. He was selfish, reclusive, and, unfortunately, my legal guardian. I had called him a bastard to his face on many occasions, as well as some even cruder names. Itachi was twenty-two and in his senior year of college. He was studying to be a pediatrician, and I bet he saw me as an inconvenience, because as soon as I was eighteen, a year and a half from now, he was taking off for medical school. That damn bastard.

I walked into his room without knocking. He was bent over his desk, leaning too close to the book he was currently studying. Stupid idiot, he needed to get his eyes checked or something.

"Hey, Itachi," I called carelessly. He shot up quickly, startled, and almost hit his head on his desk lamp.

"Oh, hey, Sasuke!" he replied, smiling brightly.

"Look, I'm gonna be gone some this weekend and after school next week, okay?"

"Why?"

"Tutoring some kid. Uzumaki Naruto." I was about to turn and leave when I realized that he was still talking.

"Uzumaki, Uzumaki… I feel like I know that name…" he mumbled to himself, drumming his fingers on the desk. "Ah! I remember now! He's the kid who lost both his parents when he was an infant; I remember Mom and Dad talking about it."

I rolled my eyes. "Fascinating." Without saying any more, I turned and left, perhaps shutting his door a little louder than necessary. I actually _was _a little curious about Naruto's past, but I didn't want to find it out from Itachi.

I returned to my couch to gladly waste the rest of the day.

* * *

**Naruto Point of View**

"Ugh, Sai, _why_ would you agree to go if you know you're bad in groups?" I asked my friend through the phone. There was the rustle of clothes that was obviously a shrug coming through from the other end, followed by a sigh and a 'dunno'.

Sai had called me in a panic a few minutes ago. Some of his GLBT crowd had asked him to come hang out at a club that night, and Sai, for some reason, had agreed. Then, he'd realized that there would be _people_ at a club, and he freaked out and called me. Smart move, Sai.

"Look, Naruto, you _have _to help me!" he pleaded. "Go as my fake date? _Please?_"

At the word 'date' my mind sort of bleeped out for a second. See, sexuality was a, er, 'touchy' subject for me. I wasn't close-minded or anything – some of the best friends I'd had throughout the years had been gay or bi – but I _did_ question my own sexuality sometimes.

I could honestly say that I wasn't gay. I'd always leaned toward girls, and unless something very dramatic somehow swayed my interests, I'd always predominantly like girls. Some guys, however… I couldn't help but drool over. Some were just hot. But… that could be normal, right? I mean, every guy must have thoughts about other guys sometimes…

Then again, maybe not. This might be what they call those 'experimental' phases, though, right? I didn't particularly care whether or not I was bi, and I wasn't desperately trying to defend myself as straight. I just… would like to know, so I was looking at all the possibilities. You know? Well, probably not…

Sai's voice brought me back to reality. "Naruto?"

I grinned, even though I knew he couldn't see it. "I'll go as your friend, Sai. That's it, okay?" I could hear him clapping excitedly, and I could just imagine him jumping up and down on the spot. Yeah, in an effort to communicate, he sometimes, er, _overdid_ the emotion thing….

"Thanks! Pick me up at eight!" With that, he hung up the phone. I laughed softly to myself, shaking my head. Ah, Sai. He was unique, to be sure.

At around a quarter to eight, I hopped into my car and pulled out my phone to send Sai a text. My fingers flitted across the keypad as I typed 'omw' and sent it. I tapped the steering wheel in time with the beat of the radio, and hummed along to 'Thnks Fr Th Mmrs'.

Sai walked – or, should I say, bounced – out of his house when I showed up in front. "Sai," I said in a wary tone as he got into my front seat. "You haven't had any, like, sugar or something, have you?" Sugar was _not_ the pale artist's friend. He shook his head.

"No, I'm just excited; I'm going to try and talk to a lot of people tonight!" He smirked proudly, placing his crossed ankles on my dashboard. I smiled at him; his confidence was growing.

"Cool! You'll have fun," I assured him, backing out of his driveway.

He gave me directions to this club, and when we showed up, I sort of cringed inwardly. This wasn't my scene at all; there were lots of neon lights and guys in tight pants and girls with piercings and cropped hair. I didn't really have a problem with it, but… yeah, not exactly somewhere I'd choose to come. Sai seemed to be excited, though, so I kept my mouth shut and followed him through the dark double doors.

Loud techno music pulsed in my ears and shook the floor as I stepped inside, and Sai, who now looked a little intimidated, wrapped himself around my arm. "This was a mistake," he cried out over the noise. "Here, you can just take me home now."

I shook my head. "Nope! You made me drive you over here, I'm making you stay." He scowled, but I unzipped his jacket, straightened his shirt, messed his hair up a little, and said, "There, you look great. Now go talk to some people!"

He shook his head quickly. "Nuh-uh! I'm just going to stay right here with you, thanks." I rolled my eyes at him.

"My God, Sai, you really need to get better in crowds. Let's at least go find the friends who invited you."

"You're coming?"

"Yeah, sure."

"Yay! We can go, then."

He and I poked around the massive throng of people, and we finally found some people he looked like he recognized. "That's them!" he said, pointing in the direction of two lesbian chicks making out and a couple of effeminate guys. Ah, well, he did say they were from GLBT club, right? I should've expected it. Although, the stereotype overload here was kind of killing me.

He greeted them all, and then turned to me. "Okay, Naruto, introduction time; this is Carrie," he pointed to one of the girls. "Hannah, Mikey, Cade, and Ollie." I smiled at them all politely, a little shy. What would I say to them?

The tall brunette whose name was, evidently, Ollie, pointed to me and whispered something in Sai's ear that made him giggle. The guy gave Sai a thumbs-up, but Sai just shook his head. "And this is my _friend_," he looked at me as he stressed the word. "Naruto."

I waved shortly, and they all nodded, looking me up and down. Then they grinned, as if having determined that I was worthy of hanging with them. I sat down next to Sai, who jabbered quickly with the others; he didn't need me at all, did he? I prepared for a lonely night.

A while later, a guy came around to us and offered drinks on a platter. We all took one, and I took one sip before realizing that they had alcohol in them and placing mine on the counter behind me. "Hey, Sai," I warned. "I don't think you should drink that."

He sniffed it curiously, and I chuckled a little; he was so odd. Before he could pass judgment, though, Mikey spoke up. "Aww, come on, Sai; just have a little fun." Oh, man. Sai's biggest weakness was peer pressure. His eyes darted back and forth from me to Mikey, and he finally took a tiny sip. He coughed and sputtered, but grinned.

"It's good! Goes down hot."

Mikey smiled and patted him on the back, while I looked away. Stupid. "Nice, man!" I heard the dirty-blonde say.

After they'd all had several rounds of the drink, Sai leaned his head on my shoulder. "Narutooooooo," he drawled, wrapping his arms around my chest. I was about to tell him that I was irritated at him for dragging me out here, then ignoring me all night, but when I looked down at him, his face flushed with alcohol and eyes glazed over, 'Good Friend' mode kicked in.

"Yes, Sai?"

He flicked my tie. "I gotta tell you somethin'," he slurred. "I don't like bein' around all these people. Take me home, 'kay?" I smiled.

"Okay, let's go." He nuzzled into my chest as I helped him stand up, and I made a mental note that Sai was clingy when he was drunk.

We stopped at a convenience store on the way back to his house, and I bought him a bottle of water. "Chug this," I instructed when I got back to the car. "It'll dilute the alcohol. You can't go home this drunk." He nodded and unscrewed the lid. I dropped him off at his house a few minutes later. "You gonna be okay?"

"Yep! Thanks!"

I stopped him. "You had fun tonight, right?" He nodded.

"Tons!"

I smiled brightly at him. "Good. Well, see you Monday, right?"

He grinned. "Yeah! Bye, Naruto!" He walked only a little off-kilter toward his front door, and I laughed as he swung the door open and almost fell backwards before I drove off.

* * *

**Sai Point of View**

I shut the door behind me, and fell against it. As I breathed out slowly, I slid down onto the floor. I wasn't nearly as drunk as I'd pretended to be; I'd dumped most of my drinks out discreetly, though I'd had one or two just for the hell of it. Honestly, I just wanted to see how close I could get to Naruto by passing it off as drunkenness.

I blushed and smiled to myself, thinking of him. Tonight had been awful; I really, _really_ hated clubs, but it had all been part of my amazing plan. Yes, I felt a little guilty, but I was more concerned with how to calm my pounding heart.

I had to tell him. I had to tell him _soon_, before somebody else came by and snatched him up. He might be unable to return my feelings, but I think I'd be satisfied knowing that I'd at least tried, that I'd at least let him know.

I heaved a sigh and pushed myself up, walking into the kitchen. "I'm home…"

* * *

**Naruto Point of View**

Sharpened pencils? Check. Pre-calculus book? Check. Clean paper? Check. Mental Capabilities? Er… check, yeah. I went through everything I thought I could possibly need for the day's tutoring session; looked like everything was there. I glanced at the clock, which read one fifty-eight. "All right!" I said to myself as I jogged into the kitchen. "Just enough time to make some ramen!"

It turned out that Sasuke was a little late, because he rang the doorbell at two oh-three – the scandal! I opened it with a smile and a mouthful of noodles. "You're three whole minutes late; shame on you!" I said, trying to create a friendly atmosphere.

Looked like it didn't really work.

"Yeah… sorry," he said quietly before brushing slowly past me, looking around my living room. "We'll be in here?" I nodded. He seemed a little uncomfortable, though still very cool and collected. Weird; I'd always thought he'd be very… commanding.

"Yup," I replied, settling down on the floor next to the coffee table. He stood for a moment and glanced around before dropping his bag and lowering himself onto the carpet as well, across from me.

"Sooo…" he drawled as he pulled his stuff out. There was a thump as he placed his own math book on the table in front of him, and then slowly pulled out a few sharp pencils. "What exactly do you need help on?"

"Well," I began to explain. He nodded along as I listed all of my problem areas – which were quite a few – and circled a few things on a piece of paper. He seemed like a well-oiled machine, the way he had everything laid out perfectly and seemed to have today planned out already.

"Alright," he said after I'd finished. "I guess we need to start with some of the vocab. Can you define a monomial and polynomial in x?"

I scrunched my face up in concentration. "A monomial is a single term in… in the form of _a_ times _x_ to the power of _n_, where _a_ is… is, umm," I mumbled, trying to remember what Mr. Asuma had said. "I give up," I finally conceded, dropping my head in defeat.

He sighed. "Alright, so we've got a ways to go. Your '_a'_ would be a real number, '_x'_ is your variable, and '_n' _is a whole number." He wrote a few out on a piece of paper.

It continued this way for most of the time, aside from a small break where I went to get some juice. I wanted to make small talk, but even though he was so quiet, there was something intimidating about the guy. Like he was untouchable or something, I guess you'd say. So far above me on the social ladder, although I technically had more friends. So, I kept my mouth shut and tried to learn.

When four o' clock finally rolled around, he leaned back and exhaled loudly, popping his knuckles. "Well, I guess… goodbye," he said, gathering his stuff up. I helped by picking up his pencils and nodded.

"Yep. Thanks." Wow, was I ever articulate.

"Mmm, yeah. Anytime."

I waved goodbye as he walked down the hall, smiling awkwardly. He sure was quiet, huh? Well, he was a good tutor, so that was all that mattered, anyhow. As I headed for my couch, I picked up the few pages I'd filled with notes. Looking over them, I decided that we'd gotten a good amount done. With a sigh, I collapsed on my couch, closing my eyes and thinking.

Tomorrow, I would try to talk to him about something other than math and my apparent mental deficiency. Hopefully, I wouldn't screw it up.

* * *

**Sasuke Point of View**

When I got home that day, Itachi was waiting for me, to my displeasure. "What?" I asked him as I walked through the kitchen, barely casting a glance in his direction. He was sitting at the table with a glass of water clutched between his hands. His eyes were tired, but there was a smile on his face, anyway. Where did that guy get all his damn optimism? It was a little creepy, to be frank.

"I just wanted to know how your first day tutoring that kid went. Was it easy? Was he a good student?" he asked. Freaking nosy brother. Why did he care, anyway?

"It was alright, I guess," I replied. "Kinda awkward, since we don't know each other two well." He nodded, taking it in. When a moment passed, I frowned. "Can I go now, or are you going to bug me about something else?" I asked. His smile dropped, replaced by an expression that was obviously hurt, though he was trying not to show it. Damn, was that a tug at my heartstrings I was feeling? Ugh, he was the master of that look.

"No, go on, Sasuke," he replied, voice still consisted with his happy facade. Grumbling, I turned and continued towards my room as he called something about coming to ask me later when I wanted for dinner.

* * *

**Naruto Point of View**

The next day, Sasuke seemed a little more at ease when he entered my apartment. He even managed a grin as he pulled his stuff out. "So, I drew up a schedule last night," he said as he place a timeline on the table. I dragged it toward me to look at it. He had what we needed to get through every day set out already? Cool.

"This is great, Sasuke!"

"Thank you. Now, today we'll work more on roots of a polynomial first…"

It continued much the same as the day before; he explained things slowly and clearly, I took enough notes that I had to stop and flex my hand several times, and I did a few example problems. It was cold silence aside from that. Finally, at half past three, I got fed up with the lack of interesting conversation.

"So, looks like you have a bit of a stalker problem, huh, Uchiha?" I asked.

"Heh, yeah; the weirdest thing that's happened in the last week is that a couple of girls actually followed me home, then to the mall, then the video store. I was actually starting to get a little concerned."

I laughed. His fangirls were _that_ obsessive? Scary. "Uh-huh. Wow, there are tons of girls after you all the time. Must be great!" I leaned back on my arms. "You act like you don't care, though. How come?"

He stiffened when I said that. Damn, had I done something wrong? After a moment, though, he spoke again.

"The effect wears off." That was the end of our talk.

Sasuke Point of View

He had barely stepped into the cafeteria when Sakura and Ino descended like birds of prey.

"Naruto! So, you spent the weekend with Sasuke?"

"What's he like?"

"You absolutely _have_ to tell us _everything_ about him!"

I snorted and turned back to Gaara and Neji. I had told them Saturday that I was tutoring Naruto, so I knew they understood the girls' loud squealing. "So, what do you think of Uzumaki Naruto?" I asked, poking at the slop on my plate. The origin of the 'food' at this school on some days was questionable.

"Well, I've spoken to him a few times before," Neji said. "He was on the soccer team with me, but he played defense and I played forward, so we didn't interact much. I respect him as a fellow athlete and think he's nice enough." I nodded, folding my arms over my chest and looking Gaara's way.

"I don't know him much," he confessed in his soft voice. "But I would like to know him. He always seems to be able to make friends with anybody, and comes across as a very happy person." I smiled. Gaara had been a troubled guy at the beginning of the year, but you could barely tell that it was the same person now. He was looking to branch out, and I was really glad for him.

"Yeah. He's alright."

Afternoon classes were, as usual, extremely boring. I spent most of the time we were supposed to be taking notes doodling in my notebook or reading. I wouldn't fail or anything; even when I wasn't paying all that much attention, I always managed to retain enough of a lecture that I could ace a test. It was one of the perks of being an effortless straight A student.

After school, I hopped into my car and followed Naruto to his apartment. He opened the door, and the smell of baked goods wafted over me.. "Umm…?"

He grinned. "My Uncle Kakashi must've been here," he explained, meandering his way into the kitchen. I followed. A large plate of muffins and pastries was sitting on the counter, many of them still warm to the touch. "Oh, do you want one?" he inquired as he broke a cookie in half. I picked up a blueberry muffin and bit into it; it was actually pretty good.

"Does he do this often?" I asked.

"Yeah, strangely enough. Kakashi is a little different, but he's officially the most awesome guy who ever lived. But, yeah, he bakes and shit. And, uh, really likes porn."

My eyes widened. Bit too much info there, Naruto; I didn't need to know about your creepy baker uncle's porn obsession. "Well, to each his own."

We hung out in the kitchen a little more, but didn't say anything; things were still a little awkward between the two of us. It wasn't a very easy thing for me to let people in, as much as I begrudged that fact, so I didn't really know what to say, and he kept quiet as well. After that, we silently migrated back into his living area and picked up where we were the day before. I dictated instructions and gave short explanations, and he worked.

We spoke a little more about this and that, but nothing too important. I quizzed him with a mock-exam thing I'd written up, and he averaged a high D. Finally, after a particularly long stretch of silence – aside from the scratching of pencil lead – my curiosity got the better of me. "So… you have this whole apartment to yourself, Naruto?"

"Yeah. My uncle pays the rent for me," he replied, looking up happily from his paper. So his smut-and-porn-loving uncle was a baker _and_ a walking charity for Naruto? Nice.

"Oh, really? Must be great, huh?"

"Yeah! It's really cool."

"So Kakashi is your legal guardian?" I pressed, wanting to know more.

"Uh-huh," he confirmed. "You see, my mom had some problems during labor, and she died a few days after I was born. I've seen pictures, so I know what she looked like, but I obviously don't have any memory of her. Or my dad, for that matter. It's all right, though; Kakashi took me in, so I've never had to worry."

I blinked in surprise. Poor guy, I was surprised that he could still wear the goofy grin after delivering that news. "What happened to your dad?"

"Oh," he chirped, shrugging a little. "He killed himself a few months after my mom died. He couldn't live without her, I guess."

I looked at him with wide eyes. This guy had lost everything, but he didn't mope about it. Instead, he looked at the bright side of things and fully appreciated his uncle and what he'd done for him. He was an optimistic guy, that was for sure.

"Wow," was all I could manage.

"Oh, it's not so sad, really. I feel lonely sometimes, but I never really knew them, so…" He turned his curious gaze on me. "What about you, Sasuke?"

"Oh," I said simply, looking away. "Well, I don't live with my parents." Damn, was he going to press for more? I really didn't like talking about my family situation.

"Why not?" Yeah, of course.

"See, my parents hold some important jobs; my mother works in the fashion industry and my father is head of the police force in the county. My mother spends a lot of time overseas, and my father is called away so often for duty that he's hardly ever at home, and when he is, he usually sleeps." I scowled before explaining the next part. "I live with my brother. He… he is… I absolutely loathe him!" I slammed my fist down on the coffee table, momentarily losing my rationality. "When he was sixteen, he decided that it was time that we stopped being left at the house while Mom and Dad worked, but it was fine! We were fine! He might have had a problem with it, but I was fine! He could've left it alone!" It was then that I noticed that Naruto was staring at me strangely.

"I'm sorry," I said meekly, having regained my composure. "I lost myself for a moment. I shouldn't have raised my voice."

He shook his head and laughed. "I don't get you Sasuke. You're too quiet, and when you finally act like a human being, instead of bottling it up and stuff, you end up apologizing. Here, let me tell you a secret," he said, leaning in. "Nobody wants you to apologize. Quit being so reserved, people will think you're emo or something. I already do." He laughed again, and the happiness in the sound was infectious. I looked down, smirking.

"Sorry." I clapped a hand over my mouth after realizing I'd done it again.

He chuckled and thumped me on the back of the head. "It's fine. Go on."

"Anyway, he got this whole emancipation thing, then he decided to try and take custody of me. He never even asked me if I wanted to go. He's... ugh, such a bastard." I frowned darkly. "So, anyway," I wrapped up quickly. "He won. Apparently, our parents were 'irresponsible' and fostered a 'poor family environment'. So, he got special permission to have guardianship as a minor, and I went to live with my brother." I stared down at my textbook intently. "That was six years ago, and I see my parents occasionally on weekends and stuff, but they don't come over often. I think they're unhappy with Itachi, and I don't blame them."

"Mmm," he mumbled, taking another cookie from the plate we'd transported from the kitchen. "Sounds like _you're_ not happy. Is your brother really _that_ bad?"

"Yeah," I sighed, averting my eyes. I groaned inwardly at the very thought of my stupid brother. Of course he was that bad.

"M'sorry," he replied. There seemed to be a small note of finality in his tone, so perhaps he understood that this made me uncomfortable. Well, I had to admit, he could pick up a person's body language quite well, even if he wasn't all that book smart; I thought I'd masked all my discomfort.

I wrapped up the tutoring session a few minutes before five, saying that I needed to get some chores done. This wasn't necessarily true – Itachi would probably do anything I didn't – but I was thinking too much about our earlier conversation, and it was distracting me. On the car ride home, I could only think about one thing; Naruto didn't have parents, yet he was still this happy? This alive? He wasn't bitter at all! He was an impressive case.

I pulled up in my driveway just as 'Boulevard of Broken Dreams' was ending on the radio. I rapped my fingers on the steering wheel for a moment until the last chord faded away, then sighed and pulled the key out of the ignition. The radio went quiet, as did the engine, and I pushed my door open and heard the soft crunch of gravel beneath my feet as I walked around to the passenger side to grab my bag.

I was surprised not to find Itachi in the kitchen as I'd expected. Usually he'd be flipping through recipe cards or getting ready to go to the grocery store by now, but he was nowhere to be seen. Darn. I was hungry, and I didn't know what food we had. "Itachi?" I called. When there was no answer, I grumbled unintelligibly to myself before setting off to find him. He was somewhere in the house, for sure.

After checking his bedroom and the living room, I came to his study door. Without bothering to knock, I turned the knob and walked in. Sure enough, he was crouched over another book, probably studying; his biology teacher was pretty hard, I think. The lights were all out, and the light filtering through his dusty window was poor. I frowned when I realized that a pang of something akin to sympathy had just passed through me.

"You'll ruin your eyesight, dummy," I murmured as I flipped the lights on for him. He looked up from his enormous tome and smiled at me.

"Thank you, Sasuke. Are you hungry?" I could hear the edge to his voice and knew that he was probably stressing over an exam of some sort.

"No, that's all right, I'm fine."

He nodded and returned to his book as I retreated through the door into the hallway. I shouldn't have been so nice. What was I thinking? Didn't I remember that he'd taken away Mom and Dad? Ugh, I didn't want to deal with this. Not after having to relive it once at Naruto's. I claimed a pack of crackers from the pantry, wondering what ramen tasted like; I'd never had any. Naruto seemed to like it, though, huh?

* * *

**Naruto Point of View**

I was chattering happily with Shikamaru as we crossed the parking lot the next morning when I spotted him. "Oh, hey, Sasuke!" I cried in a loud voice, holding up a finger to signal Shika the wait for me. "How are you?"

I stopped in front of him, breathing a little heavily from sprinting across the parking lot again. He nodded. "Alright. You?"

I gave him a thumbs-up. "I'm good!" I confirmed as I smiled brightly. In response, he did some little thing with his mouth, where the corner of his lips sort of came up in a wobbly way… wait, was that a grin? It was! It was the kind of grin that people gave when they were happy, but didn't know if they should smile or not. Amused, I laughed out loud as I shook my head. He seemed confused.

"Oh, nothing," I assured him, voice still shaking. "I'll see you later, okay?"

"Yeah," he agreed before walking toward Neji, who had just stepped out of the car with Hinata.

As I returned to Shikamaru, I beamed uncontrollably. Something told me that Sasuke and I, through that silly exchange, had somehow just become friends.

I was entertaining my crowd at lunch that day. "Alright, ya'll," I said in a short, quipped southern accent, mimicking our vice principal. "I want ya'll t' have a good time ta'day, but ya'll don't do nothin' that'll get ya' in trouble, okay? Now, we're gon' dismiss tha' bleachers row by row." Kiba and Lee were laughing loudly, and everyone else was right on the verge of joining them. Ino's face was purple from chuckling silently for so long; it practically matched the shade of her shirt.

"All right, first row," I said, holding my fingers in the same funny way the Mr. Brighton did. Suddenly, I felt a tap on my shoulder. "Mmm?" I hummed questioningly as I turned around.

"Hey," Sasuke said with a tiny smile. "Look, I forgot to mention that I have a photography class on Tuesdays, so I'll have to come over when it ends at five. Sound alright?"

"Yeah!" I agreed. "Sure, that's great. You gonna want dinner while you're at my place?"

"If it's okay," he said, nodding.

"Uh-huh," I replied. He nodded again and moved toward his usual seat. It was then that I remembered that Sakura and Ino had just been in close proximity to Uchiha Sasuke. Alert the paramedics.

Sure enough, when I turned around, the girls were close to fainting and leaning on each other for support. "Oh, goodness. Oh, wow," Ino cried breathlessly, fanning herself. "He's got the most wonderful voice. And he's so polite! Is he always that way?"

"Pretty much," I confirmed. She squealed.

"Ahh! I knew it, he _is_ the perfect guy! It's undeniable now!" I sighed pityingly – she really needed some mental help – and rested my chin in my hands, exchanging a look of understanding with Shikamaru. He really liked Ino a lot, so this must be torturing him.

He bobbed his head at me and shrugged. "What are you gonna do?" he asked rhetorically.

"Yep," I agreed. Tired of listening to Ino and Sakura fangirl, I once again recaptured everyone's attention with my impersonation, and lunch resumed.

* * *

**Sasuke Point of View**

The low buzz of quiet talking filled the room when I arrived at my photography class. I dug my camera and a few sheets of notebook paper out, then hung my bag on a hook and walked over to my usual seat.

"Good afternoon, Sasuke," Mr. Dawson, my instructor, greeted me.

"Yeah," I agreed. "Hey, Mr. Dawson." He smiled at me, and his eyes crinkled in the way that was characteristic of people who look happy a lot. I immediately thought that Naruto would surely have those as he aged; he never seemed to be able to wipe that stupid grin off his face.

I ejected the memory card out of my camera and plugged it into the laptop set up in the back of the room. I printed some of my better pictures – a few in full color, a few desaturated – and gathered them all together, straightening them all so that they were in perfect uniform with the others. Mr. Dawson was very pleased when I handed them to him.

"Oh, my, Sasuke! These are wonderful," he complimented me, pointing to one that I, myself, was rather fond of. It was a camellia covered in dewdrops, and the leaves were a dark green, which was a very dramatic difference from the light pink petals. I nodded politely.

"Thank you, sir."

He continued to shuffle through my photos, telling me how good they were. "But, then," he said with a small laugh. "Could I expect anything less from my star pupil?" He came to a stop when he reached the picture of Naruto I'd taken last Thursday. He studied it for a long time before he finally spoke.

"Sasuke, I'm extremely impressed. You've gotten much better at capturing the natural lighting. May I ask who the subject is?"

"Oh, him?" I asked. "That's my… my friend. Yeah, my friend, Naruto." We _were_ friends, weren't we? I didn't know if I should be saying that just yet, but it felt right, so I let it slide off my tongue before I could catch myself. Then, for some reason, I felt a little embarrassed. "Uh, yeah… so, you like it?"

"Yes, yes, very much!" I nodded again and bid him my thanks, and he finished looking through my pictures. All the while, I was thinking. Why did I say that? Were we really friends?

Yeah, I decided. We were.

* * *

**A/N: That one felt really long... and sucky XD I re-read it... and I think my eyeballs are bleeding...**

**And why is Sai so OOC? Well, frankly, because I find a flamboyant Sai hilarious.**

**Well, anyways, the next chapter is much more, uh, read-able. And, if you guys review and tell me what you thought of this, you'll get to find out why in only four short days! I'd _like_ ten reviews on this chapter, but I realize that with its impressive amount of fail, that's unreasonable, so I'm shooting for seven again XD at least seven reviews, and I update Tuesday. Sound good?**

**Thanks again for reading, everyone! :3**


	3. Rolling With the Punches

**A/N: *sniffs* I... cannot explain to you guys... how happy you've made me! I got eleven reviews on the last chapter - eleven! For me, having only posted two chapters and having 18 reviews already was unheard of... you've made me so happy. You're great, great readers, and it really makes me feel good to see that people are enjoying my fic. Faves and Alerts are much appreciated, as well. You all rock, thanks so much ;)**

******Warnings: Language gets a it worse in this chapter, because the boys are angsty and I was going through a South Park thing when I wrote this (and, oh dear, I think I'm having a relapse - expect it to get pretty bad later on, too, as I'm currently being influenced by foul-mouthed construction paper fourth graders ;D)**

******Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. No really, I don't.**

* * *

Chapter 3

**Naruto Point of View**

A quarter after five found Sasuke standing, soaked, outside my apartment door. "Oh, my God," I exclaimed, trying to fight back laughter at the pouty look on his face. "What happened?"

"I couldn't find a spot when I got downtown for my class today, so I ended up parking a few blocks away, and I had to walk back to the car in the pouring rain!" he complained, removing his wet jacket as he stepped inside.

"Well, here, you stay there, I'll get you a towel and some dry clothes!" I told him, holding up a finger as I dashed toward the laundry room. A few moments later, he was drying himself off with the towel and heading toward my bathroom to change. I got the stuff we'd need for tutoring out of both of our bags while he was gone.

Upon his return, I really _did_ start laughing; he looked hilarious! He was tugging at the pale orange shirt I'd lent him, and the towel hung over his head like a strange hat. "I don't know about these… bright colors," he confessed, looking distastefully at the orange fabric.

"Uncomfortable out of your blacks and blues?" I asked teasingly. "Seriously, dude, you look like a walking bruise most of the time." He just swatted me on the back of the head before moving into the living room.

"Oh, you already set up? Good," he murmured before taking a seat. I slid over next to him and picked up my pencil.

"So, if I'm getting ninety-eight for _n_," I began as I mentally prepared myself for a long stretch of learning. Ugh, how I loathed that word sometimes!

Well, it turned out that there wasn't too much learning to be done that day; we were a little ahead of Sasuke's fancy little schedule, so he gave me a practice test a little before he normally would. I had to rack my brain and pause to think a lot, but when I asked how I'd done, he said it would be something like an 82. I grinned proudly; that was a 'C'!

Well, a middle grade was enough to satisfy me, so, before Sasuke could object, I shot up and made my way over to my couch, launching over the back and landing with a loud 'oof'. The black-haired genius begrudgingly joined me a moment later, moving my feet to the side to make room for himself.

My thumb tapped the button on the remote rhythmically until I came to a channel I recognized. "I was wondering what that turkey was doing there," a short green cartoon figure with a bulky head and weird, enormous red eyes said to himself. His antennae bounced as he walked toward a small robot with cerulean eyes, who looked like he was mentally challenged. He had just exploded out of the turkey.

I couldn't hold back a laugh. "Hah, all right! Time for some good, clean, dark humor! Dude, I love Invader Zim, don't you?" I asked, nudging Sasuke.

"It's a cartoon," he replied shortly, looking unimpressed.

"Whatever." I watched the screen intently, but I was aware of Sasuke's hand sneakily inching closer and closer to the remote as he attempted to steal it away from me. Apparently, he no longer trusted my judgment when it came to TV.

When the episode was over, he rolled his eyes. "Finally. I didn't think I'd be able to live through another moment of that much concentrated stupidity." I was hurt! How dare he insult JV*? I was about to protest when I realized what channel he had put it on.

"Dude…" I was beyond words. "This is… this is…"

"Welcome to HGTV's 'Design Star'!" the announcer voice greeted us. I fell sideway off the couch, clutching my stomach and sucking in air between my uncontrollable gasps as I shook with mirthful giggles. He… he was watching…!

He stuck his lower lip out like he disliked my reaction. "Hey, don't act like that. It's better than your retarded show!"

"No way, Sasuke, this is… I mean, this is really bad."

"Oh, come on, you can suffer through. If you get to watch cartoons, then I can watch HGTV. Guilty pleasure, Uzumaki," he chided. I just raised a sarcastic eyebrow.

"Wow. You can even make TV sound like masturbation. The girls are right about you, you've _gotta_ be good if you can do that," was my reply. He frowned, embarrassed, and turned away, ducking his head a little lower. "But, really," I continued. "IZ has violence, and it's all sadistic and junk. This show's just… gay."

"…"  
When he didn't respond, I smirked haughtily. Maybe I'd have some fun with him. "Oh? That bothers you?" I inquired nosily, poking his arm as obnoxiously as possible. "Hmm? I think Sasuke's got a little secret! Neh, Sasu-_gay?_" I was about to continue when I caught the furious look on his face.

"Shut the hell up, Naruto!" he shouted, standing up. "You're so irritating sometimes! I'll change the fucking channel if it's so important!" He flipped the channel back to Invader Zim and settled back onto the couch, crossing his arms irritably over his chest. I was a little stunned, which was, I suppose, his intention; now I was quiet.

A long time passed, and neither of us spoke. Sasuke fumed in silence, and I was afraid to speak. At around six-thirty, I heard Uchiha's stomach growl. "Hungry?" I asked quietly.

"Nn," he said in response, so I got up and headed into the kitchen to grab something. I wasn't a particularly talented cook, so a few minutes later, I placed a bowl of soup and a cherry coke in front of him, clutching onto my own bowl of ramen.

"Thanks," he told me. "Uhh... smells good, I guess."

"Yep," I chuckled hollowly. "Straight from the can. Yummy."

He sipped at his drink, still refusing to look at me. We both winced every time the spoon clanged against the side of the bowl or my fork scraped against my own bowl, breaking the silence. Finally, I couldn't stand it anymore.

"Sasuke, I'm sorry, I—"

"Naruto, I overreacted, and—"

Then, we both fell silent and stared at each other, realizing that we'd both spoken at the same time. After a moment, he cleared his throat. "So, as I was saying… sorry."

"Yeah," I replied. "Me, too."

"Well… I should go," he sighed, gathering his things. "Thanks for the food."

"You sure you can't stay longer?" I asked politely. I wanted to make sure I'd fixed things before he left. "It's only seven."

"Nah, I need to get home. My brother will probably be wondering where I am soon, so… bye," he said awkwardly, waving a little as he slipped out the door. As he did, a strange feeling came over me. It was like, despite that little fight, we were closer. Like it had somehow strengthened our bonds or something. Like I said, it was strange… but I was glad.

* * *

**Sasuke Point of View**

"Itachi, I'm home," I shouted as I walked in the door. He was sitting on the couch, looking relieved.

"I tried to text you, but you didn't answer. Where have you been?"

"Naruto's, stayed late," I replied shortly as I moved toward my room, not bothering to stop and have a conversation with him. "I ate there, so don't bother fixing me anything." There was a long pause before he spoke again.

"Okay." The sadness was evident in his voice. I don't think he liked it when I blew him off like that, but it wasn't like he didn't deserve it. That contemptuous jerk. He... totally didn't deserve my company. At all...

I picked up speed as I walked down the hall and flung the door to my room open. After tossing my bookbag in the corner, I flopped down on my bed and folded my arms across my stomach, mind racing.

"Damn. I didn't handle that well, did I?" I asked my ceiling, referring to the incident at Naruto's apartment earlier. With a groan, I rolled over on my side and curled up a little. Growling to myself, I began to reflect.

I shouldn't have let it bother me. It was ridiculous, he was only teasing, and… but I couldn't help it! I didn't want to be like this! I didn't wanna… like _guys_. But I did! So it really… I just couldn't stand it! It was embarrassing, and a flaw. An imperfection, something I just had to repress. Surely I'd get better, right? Surely it wouldn't be so confusing forever. Hopefully. What was it my father always said? Uchiha Pride, that was it. Uchiha pride and gay pride… er, no. They just didn't go!

Maybe I could consult Naruto some day. He was actually pretty nice, even if he was a complete idiot, and he sort of seemed to understand—

Oh, _fuck!_ Was I starting... starting to like _him? _No way, we'd hardly gotten to know each other. I mean, just because I though he was nice didn't mean I _liked_ him! Yeah, psh, no way, it was just a good friendship. Though... sometimes, you meet somebody, and you just sort of _like_ them right from the start, but... and... no way, it...

"Ugh! God damn it!" I cried as I laced my fingers through my hair, scowling and shutting my eyes. Perhaps I was being melodramatic, but it made me feel safe. Maybe I could block out the world if I just stayed like this. Maybe I could stay in my room and forget about Itachi and Naruto and my messed-up sexuality. Then I'd be away from everything and just be Sasuke, and not have to worry about other people any more.

* * *

**Naruto Point of View**

"So I said, '_you_ check it out then!' Oh my God, you should've seen the look on his face!" I cried, bringing a round of laughter from my friends. I smiled at them while looking around the cafeteria. Hmm, Sasuke wasn't sitting with Gaara and Neji. Where could he be—?

Suddenly, I heard a plastic tray clatter down next to me in what was usually Sai's seat. So, you can imagine my surprise when I found it to be Sasuke settling down next to me. "What's up?" he asked nonchalantly, prodding his green-colored mush with the end of his plastic fork.

"Sa-Sasuke?" I asked, a little bewildered. He would dare to venture into Sakura and Ino's territory? I'd probably have to help him fend them off, or who knows what they'd do. "You're not sitting with your friends?"

"Well, they said it was all right," he explained. "And… aren't we friends?"

"Yeah! Yeah, I didn't mean it like that! Definitely sit!" I said, nodding at him.

As expected, Ino and Sakura drooled and giggled like idiots all of lunch. It would've surprised me if they didn't. Sasuke and I laughed a little and talked a _lot,_ neither of us mentioning what had happened the night before. I was glad that we'd put it behind us, and it was really nice to just get a chance to relax and hang out, instead of trying to focus on studying. He really was a lot of fun!

Ino eventually found her voice. "Sasuke-kun," she said breathily, attaching the honorific that Kaniko, president of the Uchiha Sasuke fan club, had initiated. They all seemed to think that it gave him a more impressive presence, like he needed it, when it was added. Those girls... their reasoning was a total freaking mystery. "I really… I really like your jacket!" she announced, then blushed and turned away. When she dared to look up, he was staring at her with innocent eyes, caught off guard.

"Oh," he said. Then, he smiled honestly at her, going soft. "Thanks!" All of the fangirls whose attention had been drawn by Sasuke's seat change gasped at his gentle smile. I actually heard a few thuds as random girls hit the floor, unconscious. He looked around and blinked in surprise, then laughed shyly and turned back to us.

As he looked back over to me, I smirked mischievously. He seemed confused by this, and I took advantage of his unawareness; my finger shot out to the tiny slice of stale cake on my plate, swept up a dollop of whipped cream, and plopped it onto the end of his nose.

"Bwahahaha!" I cackled, exaggerating the evilness. I was very sneaky, no? He blinked a few times before cracking a grin.

"Ah, so that's how it is, huh?" He returned the favor by flicking some of his own whipped cream onto my forehead, which I wiped away with a tiny laugh, before going about trying to rid himself of the white fluff on his nose. He stuck his tongue out, reaching up and twisting it even though he obviously couldn't reach.

A strange feeling came over me. The muscle that prodded at the air transfixed me, moving lithely. I couldn't tear my eyes away, and I watched with bated breath as he jokingly tried to remove the cream. I squirmed a little, suddenly uncomfortable. Damn! What _was_ this?

Finally, I just couldn't stand it any longer. "Just wipe it off, Sasuke!" I commanded. He frowned and complied with my demands, looking away to talk to Kiba. Shit, I'd just messed up again. Well, he'd get over it, I was sure. Sasuke had never seemed like one to blow something out of proportion for too long, so I figured I was safe. I sighed and cupped my chin in my palms, closing my eyes and trying to ignore the flips my stomach was doing.

* * *

**Sai Point of View**

Kicked out of my own seat by Uchiha Sasuke. That jerk! He thought that he could just barge right in and steal _my_ best friend… crush… person? Not going to happen! I looked across the table at Shikamaru and Lee, who were looking equally gloomy. I understood their pain. All three of us were moping about the same thing; our crushes had been drawn in by Uchiha Sasuke. That guy was turning out to be a major problem. Maybe I'd have to do something about him…

* * *

**Naruto Point of View**

"Come on, Sasuke!" I cried, dragging him by the forearm from his car. "Today's the hard stuff, so we gotta get started!"

"Whoa!" he cried as he stumbled forward, trying to find his footing as I pulled him up the building's stairs. "Wait a second! I'm gonna fall, you idiot!" This was proven a moment later when I felt myself being yanked back, collapsing on top of Sasuke, who had grabbed hold of the railing to keep himself from tumbling all the way down to the ground floor.

"Ouch! Dumbass…"

"Hey! You were too slow, not my fault!"

"Don't fool yourself. The sooner you admit your stupidity, the better for everyone."

"Never!" I cried defiantly as I tried to push myself up. My hand slipped, and I began to go. "Sasuke!" I shouted, reaching up for some help. His fingers closed around mine, and he tilted forward, still seated uncomfortably, as he tried to stop my fall. I managed to stick my foot out and walk backwards as he pulled me back up. I landed in his lap a minute later, groaning at the soon-to-be bruise on my ass.

"Okay… that was pretty dumb," I admitted.

"See, was that so hard?" he asked mockingly.

"Yes."

I tried, more carefully, to get up, but froze when I felt his warm breath tickling the base of my neck. It was so comforting, and he was _so_ close, and… wait, why did my face feel hot? I was blushing! Oh, God! I shot up and brushed myself off, taking several quick steps away and tilting my head down in hopes that my hair would hide my burning face. What the hell? I... why was I blushing? That was... weird.

"You… okay?" I asked awkwardly, my voice rough. Fuck! Stupid body! What the hell are you doing today?

"Yep," he sighed as he stood up, bent over a little. "Ow. I feel like an old man."

"Hmm," I mused, putting my worries aside and scratching my chin. "I don't know, I just can't see you as 'old'. I mean, you'd be all wrinkly and have this crazy white duck-butt hair, and have an old hag Sakura hanging on your arm!"

He was scrunching his shoulders up self-consciously. "My hair doesn't look like a duck's butt at all!"

"It so does," I replied. "Now, hurry up. We're wasting time!" I resumed my earlier activity of storming up the stairs, and I heard him grumbling behind me as he rushed after me.

"H-hey! Wait up, stupid!"

That afternoon actually didn't consist of much studying, despite my eagerness earlier. I stared at the paper for a few minutes, but the numbers glared back at me angrily, not wanting to make any sense. I gave up soon enough. "Okay, seriously… let's just screw this, I'm already at a C, so whatever." Before Sasuke could stop me, I was up and out of the living room with his school bag as a hostage.

"No! You idiot, my camera's in there!" he shouted after me. "I swear to God, if you drop my bag, I _might_ have to kill you!" I grinned; there was a teasing tone to his voice. He didn't really think I'd drop it. He trusted me.

"Hah, you'll have to come get it from me!" I retorted, sticking my tongue out at my slow pursuer before dashing into my room and locking the door. He pounded on it from the outside.

"Open up, _dobe!_" he demanded. I laughed at him and started rummaging through his stuff.

"Hmm," I said in a loud, taunting voice. "Let's see what we have here… oh! What's this?"

"What? What's what?" he asked, sounding a little nervous. How uncharacteristic. He must not want me to see what was in here. Naturally, that only increased my curiosity.

"It says, 'Sasuke's Journal. Do Not Open!'" I announced through the wooden door.

"Damn it, stop that!" he yelled back. "Don't you dare open that, bastard!"

Totally ignoring him, I opened to the first page and began to read aloud. "Original fiction ideas." Oh, so this was, like, his writing? Cool!

"Don't read that. I swear…!" he threatened angrily. Before I could get any further in my reading, there was a click and he flung my door open. My eyes darted to the doorknob as he swept his bag and journal out of my hands and held them safely out of my reach. There was a paperclip jammed into the lock; so he knew how to pick locks, too? Was playing guitar the _only _thing this guy didn't do? He was a photographer, an aspiring author, a star student, and could pick locks. Not fair!

"Aww, come on, Sasuke!" I complained, reaching out pathetically for his stuff. "I was just having some fun!"

"No," he replied, a note of finality in his voice. He wasn't going to budge. "Now I have to check and make sure you didn't break my camera, you idiot!"

"Myeh myeh myeh myeh myeh, nyah myehbleh!" I replied, moving my hand like it was a mouth and mimicking him incoherently. It absolutely oozed sarcasm, but he really didn't seem to care. He just kept pressing buttons and adjusting things, checking the lens and shutter several times. Finally, he seemed satisfied.

"Well, by some incredible stroke of luck, it looks like it's still okay," he confirmed. "Now…" He suddenly snapped a picture of my on the sly. With an evil laugh, he showed me the picture. I had been moving to look at him, but in the shot, he caught me just as I was blinking, so my eyes were rolled back slightly and crossed to some extent, and my mouth was in some strange position.

"One word," he whispered in my ear as he pulled the camera away. "Blackmail!" With that, he took off, sprinting down the hallway and laughing evilly. I wasted no time in picking myself up off the bed and following him. He leaped over a table; so did I. He rounded the corner sharply; me, too. I copied his movements until we were both out of breath.

"You're cornered, Uchiha," I told him menacingly. "Just hand over the camera, and it'll all be over. You have to power to end it, here and now." He scowled.

"I have no choice, huh?"

I shook my head. "Nope."

With a sigh, he handed it to me. "Delete with the red button," he instructed. I brought up the embarrassing picture, hit the red button with my thumb, and reaffirmed the decision by hitting it again when a message popped up.

"Success!" I cried victoriously, handing the camera back and throwing my hands up in celebration.

"Yep. Good job," he said flatly. "Wanna take some real pictures?"

"Sure!" I told him. "I have the perfect idea!" I dashed off and pulled several scarves and mittens out of my closet, tossing them to the floor. Finally, I found what I was looking for.

"Gloves?" he asked incredulously. "You want me to use my experience as a photographer to shoot you… wearing gloves." He looked at me like I'd gone off the deep end.

"Not just _wearing_ gloves," I corrected. "Take a sequence of pictures as I put them _on!"_

"Oh," he returned sarcastically. "That makes it _much_ more refined!" I pouted at him, pulling my sad puppy eyes, and, naturally, he caved. Naturally, yeah. Damn I was good. "Well, I have room on my memory card, so…"

"Yes!" I grabbed the front of the camera and pushed it up towards his eyes, his hands still latched onto the sides protectively. "Come on, Sasuke, get ready!"

"I don't understand why you're so excited by this…"

"Blegh!" I countered. "You just don't know how to have fun."

With an eye-roll, he instructed, "Just start putting the glove on." I nodded, and I could hear the clicks from his camera as I did just that. After I finished putting it on, I decided that it wasn't fun enough; I needed to add some Uzumaki flare!

I crossed my eyes and scowled at the camera. Bending my fingers in a crooked way, I moaned, "Fear the Claw, Uchiha Sasuke! It has come for your soul!" He put the camera down on a table and crossed his arms over his chest, a bored expression on his face.

"Lame," he judged. "You know what, scratch that; it wasn't lame, it was just pathetic. Sad, really."

I frowned. "_You're_ sad, ya' emo!" With that, I poked him in the forehead with my index and middle finger. "C'mon, apparently you have supreme artistic picture-ing skills, so tell me what _you _wanna take a picture of." I started walking away, but when I didn't hear his shuffling footsteps behind me, I turned around. "Sasuke?"

He was rubbing his forehead, looking like he was in some sort of shock. His eyes were glued to the floor, a little glazed over. Finally, he spoke.

"Don't do that again."

"What? Why? I only—"

"I just don't want you to do it again, alright?" he muttered, looking up and meeting my gaze, his eyes blazing. As he calmed a little, he murmured, "My brother used to do that… before…"

I nodded. "Oh. Sorry, then."

He shook his head. "It's fine." A strange expression graced his face, something along the lines of a smile, and he looked past me down the hall. "You know what? I'm in the mood for more blackmail pictures!" I raised my eyebrow.

"Is this your idea of revenge?"

"Yeah."

His blackmail idea worked for a few minutes, but then we started getting a little off track. In the end, he had a picture of a Life Savers wrapper on my thumb, himself buried in pots and pans that had fallen on him when he went digging through my cabinets – I took that one – and a ton of me making weird faces at him. There was also one of him and me sitting on the carpet in my room and sticking our tongues out at the camera. Just as we were about to wrap up and maybe do some _actual_ studying, Sasuke spotted something on my bed.

"What… is _this?_" he asked incredulously, holding up a ratty, one-eyed, patched stuffed fox. I lunged.

"Don't touch Kyuu-chan!" I screeched.

"Uhh… okay, sorry," he said, handing it to me.

"Kyuu-chan is the only gift I have from my parents. My dad gave this to me the day he…" I paused. "The day he died."

"Oh," Sasuke said simply. Then he smirked teasingly at me. "Aww, it's so cute! Doesn't Naruto just love his wittle stuffed aminal!" I suppose he saw the embarrassed look on my face – what sixteen-year-old guy still slept with a stuffed animal? – Because he wiped the haughty look off his face and said, "But, really, it's cool that you've held onto it all these years."

I smiled at him, holding the fox's cheek next to mine. "Family photo time!" I cried, urging him to take a picture. He didn't. "Sasuke… you look upset. Did I say something?"

"N-no, it's just… that it just hit me." He explained. "It's just you and the fox, all the time, isn't it?"

"Yup!" I replied, unaffected by his epiphany. "But I don't get lonely; I talk to my friends and text and stuff, and I'm usually hanging with them after school, anyway. Plus, Kakashi comes by often enough, so I'm okay!" He nodded sadly. "Now come on! Stop moping over _me_ and just take the stupid picture!"

Later, we decided that it might be a good idea to study – what a revolutionary thought – and so we got down to business at a quarter after four. We followed his schedule, and he had to rush through some parts to fit everything into our now-small time frame, but he still explained things so that I understood. When practice test time rolled around, I felt ready to tackle anything. When I finished the last question, his eyes were wide.

"W-what?" I stammered nervously. "Did I do badly?"

"No, that's not it," he replied softly. "It's just… well, good job, Naruto. B plus!"

I laughed, relieved and proud of myself. "Really? That's awesome!" Friday might be a little more bearable now, huh? He seemed to think so, because he smiled at me. It wasn't a wide smile – it never was with him – but it was sincere and reassuring, all the same. The kind of smile you got from somebody who really cared about you, you know? It felt nice, sort of—

Oh, no. I _God_ no... you've gotta be kidding me...

* * *

I bit the inside of my cheek, nervously wondering how I could bring up my, er, 'controversial' topic with Sakura. Like the naughty children we were, we had decided to blow off first and second period to hit the mall; Sakura _had_ to make it to some sale or something, and I… didn't like class. Now we were cruising between the clothing racks at Buckle, and she dug through the dresses in search of the perfect one.

I had confided in Sakura long ago, in freshman year. That was when I first started thinking I might be bisexual. She had always stuck by my side, so one day, I just sort of… brought it up. She'd been very understanding, and we'd talked about it a few more times since then. It was still awkward to speak of, though.

"Say, Sakura?" I began, looking away. "You know how sometimes I… think I might be bi?"

She looked up curiously. "Yeah, what's up? And, blue or green?" she asked, holding up two slinky silk dresses for me to judge.

"Well, it's just… I am a little more… _sure_ that that's the case. Definitely the green, it goes well with your eyes."

"Oooh, has somebody got a lil' gay crush?" she inquired, giving me a keen look. I blushed and turned away, horribly embarrassed.

"N-no," I lied smoothly. "I just have been noticing stuff lately, and… yeah, so whatever." Wow, that _totally_ came out right. I mean, seriously, I had never sounded more stupid in my life, and that was really saying something! She laughed and shook her head.

"Has anyone ever told you that you're an idiot?"

"Yeah," I answered. "That seems to ring a bell." As she continued to browse through the clothes, I contemplated my situation. I _did_ have a crush on a guy. Little crush. Tiny, miniscule, microscopic crush, I promise. That guy, of course, just _had _to be Uchiha Sasuke. Yeah, yeah… it was Sasuke. I'd like to be able to say that I hated these feelings, that they made me sick and that I felt weird thinking about my friend that way. The problem was, that was far from the truth. Honestly, I couldn't help but smile a little when I thought of the dark-haired boy, so quiet and relatable, if not a condescending bastard when he I didn't get my pre-cal. There was something in him that caught my attention. Damn, even _that_ sounded gay to me.

I didn't ask for this, but I wouldn't turn it away. I'd just wait, bide my time and watch Sasuke. If this was just a tiny friend-crush (like I thought it was), it'd go away soon enough. If it wasn't… well, I didn't exactly have a plan after that.

* * *

**Sasuke Point of View**

I shuddered uncomfortably as I stared into the boys' room mirror. First period had just ended, and I realized that I couldn't avoid my demons much longer, or they'd drive me insane.

The night before, I'd had a rather, um, awkward dream about a certain blonde blockhead. We'd been at my house for some reason, and he was acting particularly, er, flirty, and... yeah, I was doing and _awesome_ job of repressing my… gay-ness. Damn it! What was wrong with me?

My shoulders tensed as I grabbed onto the edge of the sink in front of me and I panted in shock and frustration. I thought I was going to explode, I was feeling so overwhelmed. Finally, I growled to myself and shook my head to clear it. "All right, Uchiha," I told myself seriously. "Get it together. This isn't something you can't deal with. If you just… suppress these stupid feelings and ignore them when they come up, they have to eventually go away, right? Sure. Good."

I wasn't convinced, but I would be late for class as it was, so I needed to get a move on. I was about to leave when another person entered the room, somebody I didn't expect at all.

"Hello, Sasuke," Sai said coldly. I was caught off guard by the frigid tone of his voice; what had I done to piss him off?

"Umm, hey. Sai, is it?" I said awkwardly, unsure of how to communicate with this guy. I'd heard through the grapevine that he was a little weird, if not extremely talented when it came to art and things like that.

"Yes," he responded in a monotone. A moment of silence passed between us before he spoke up again. "Sasuke, I need to tell you something very important, and I want you to listen closely." I was really starting to dislike the threatening tone I picked up in that order, but I was also strangely curious to see why this guy came walking in here with a stick up his ass and a bone to pick with me.

"Sure."

He glared. "Naruto is a very special person to me. He is the first real friend I have ever made, and I don't intend to lose him to some popular jerk-off like you." I was stunned. What the hell? Insecure, much?

"Really," he asserted. "I am going to keep him close to me, no matter how you try to interfere. I know he thinks you're his friend, but I know people like you because they've mocked me my entire life. You're the kind who plays it up as the 'quiet-and-oh-so-likeable' type, but you're really just a jerk. I don't want Naruto around somebody like that.

"Also, he's too stupid for his own good. I care for him a lot, but he's not very bright, no matter how you try to look at it. He won't notice that he's pushing other people out, and I won't let that happen." With a determined look on his face, he nodded, probably to himself. "I'll keep Naruto at my side, whether that means cutting you out of the picture or not! Okay?"

I gaped for a minute. The guy was certainly… bold. Then I realized exactly _what _he'd said. "No!" I replied incredulously. "No, not okay! Look, dude, I don't know what kind of experience you've had with people, but I'm _not_ they way you say I am. And I'm just as determined to keep Naruto close to _me!_" I shouted the last part in his face without thinking.

"Really? And why is that?"

Oh. Hm. I thought I was supposed to be repressing my feelings for Naruto, not treating him like my possession. "B-because he's _my_ best friend now!" I stammered uncertainly. As I thought about it, this was definitely true. Gaara and Neji meant a lot, but I'd never formed a bond with either of them the way I'd bonded with Naruto in the short amount of time we'd known each other. Even if it was a slightly… 'different' bond…

He glared at me for a moment, scrutinizing me and looking me up and down. Without a word, he turned and strutted out, appearing to be almost disgusted. I bit my lip angrily and sneered for a while after he left before letting my shoulders drop. God damn. What was I doing to myself?

* * *

**A/N: Alright, so, I feel like I owe you guys an explanation for the last few chapters of SUCK. Here's the deal: I am almost completely done writing the fic, and it's just a matter of posting the chapters. The word count right now numbers well into the 50,000s, and you can probably imagine that it's taken me quite a while to write so much. This explains my inactivity on the site (as far as posting goes) for the past few months. The first few chapters were written months ago, when my writing sort of... really sucked, and although I want them to be good, I don't have the patience to go back and write whole chapters of a fic that I've been diligently working on since the beginning of July - I'm already writing all the time XD excuse me for being a bit unwilling to rework long passages. Therefore, I check and edit them so that they sound better, but the beginning chapters may feel like it's moving rather quickly/ written rather poorly, regardless.**

**Don't worry, as the story progresses, my writing gets cleaner, more thought out, and better all around, though I would never go so far as to say it's perfect ;)**

**Yes. Yes, I am lazy, thank you XD**

**In other news, another shout-out to my reviewers. You people rock my FACE off!**

**Review again? Much love for those who do, but I appreciate anyone who even reads the story XD**


	4. Meet the Family

**A/N: Hello, once again, readers. *sigh* didn't do so well last time... only 6 reviews... but they all meant a lot ;)**

**Anyways, figured I should go ahead and clear something up that you'll see in this chapter - yes, this fic contains Fem!Dei. Shoot me now. I usually hate gender-bendering, but a girl Deidara is one of the only ones I can stand. Plus, I was like, "Well, not _everybody_ in this fic can be wonderfully yaoi-licious!" so yeah... XD**

**Disclaimer: Still don't own. T.T**

* * *

Chapter 4

**Naruto Point of View**

That afternoon, at my apartment – where else – I noticed that Sasuke was acting a little… uncomfortable. It wasn't something you'd usually give too much thought to; it's only that he was acting the same way he was when I first met him. He was careful. Calculating. Quiet unless he absolutely had to speak. It was unnerving. I thought… I really thought we'd gotten closer.

Finally, I couldn't take it any longer. "Sasuke," I asked, the concern evident in my voice. He looked up at me warily.

"What do you want?"

"Um, I just… I wanted to know if you were okay. You're acting like something's bugging you." He leaned back against my couch with a heavy sigh and stared up at my ceiling, crossing his arms over his chest. He remained silent for a long time. I placed a gentle hand on his shoulder, shaking him a little. I wanted him to answer; I didn't like it when he was acting like this.

"We'll still hang out after this, right?" he asked slowly, barely more than a whisper. It was odd to hear him sounding so unsure. He was usually an arrogant, condescending bastard.

"Well, of course!" I told him, surprised by his sudden doubts. "Why would you ever think we _wouldn't_?"

He shrugged uncomfortably. "I sort of ran into Sai this morning, and…"

"And?" I prompted.

"And he basically threatened me. Said he'd cut me out if I got in the way of his friendship with you or something. I just want to make sure you're not going to let him do that."

My mouth opened with a soft 'pop!' sound. Sai was _so _dead. "Don't worry!" I assured. "Look, Sai's just… he's got Asperger's, you know, so he's not all that good with social situations. He probably feels threatened himself and just, uh, doesn't know any better than to confront you like this."

Sasuke nodded, but still didn't look my way. "Just wanted to be sure."

Another moment of silence passed between us before I decided that it was time for me to lighten the mood. "Come on, _teme,_" I laughed, nudging him playfully. "You really think I'm _that _much of a jerk?"

Despite his pout, he laughed softly. "Nah, guess not." At last, he pulled his gaze down from the ceiling and trained it on me. There was a gentle smile on his lips, and his eyes were relaxed and happy. A weird, jumpy feeling bounced around in my chest, like… I don't know. I can't describe it. From the way Sasuke suddenly blinked and scooted away, I guess he must have felt the same thing.

A moment later, he spoke up gruffly. "Look, I should go. You've got all the info you should need for tomorrow. Just look over your notes before you go to sleep tonight." Without glancing at me once, he picked up his things and strode hurriedly across the room toward the front door. Just as he was about to walk out, I found my voice.

"O-okay! Bye, Sasuke," I bid him, trying to sound more like Uzumaki Naruto and less like a nervous little girl. It seemed that my attempts were in vain.

"Yeah," he agreed before disappearing behind a closed door.

* * *

**Sasuke Point of View**

I sat behind my steering wheel for a moment, rubbing my eyes and frowning to myself. I really sucked at repressing my emotions around him. I mean, I _really_ sucked. I was almost certain he could hear my heart pounding when he'd looked up at me earlier, a sheepish smile on his face and sparkling blue eyes peeking out from behind his messy straw-colored hair.

I sounded so hopeless.

Eventually, I got up and decided to make my way toward the door of my house. Hopefully I'd be able to avoid Itachi completely, get some food, and hide out in my room for the rest of the night.

Apparently, it just wasn't my lucky day, because I knew there was no way I'd avoid Itachi as soon as I stepped inside. There he sat in the middle of the living room, necking with his slutty girlfriend, Deidara. She was giggling and blushing like an idiot, and I rolled my eyes in disgust. That bitch. She was even worse than my brother.

Itachi looked up and grinned at me, but I only fixed him with a death glare before moving past him. Leaving thoughts of food behind, I simply trudged straight to my room.

About an hour later, I heard a knock on my door. Setting my laptop to the side, I said sourly, "Come in." Itachi stepped through the doorway, looking a little disheveled; his shirt was rumpled, and his hair was a mussed rat's nest. That woman was going to kill him if she kept it up. "What?"

He raised an eyebrow. "In a good mood, as usual," he sighed before sitting down on my bed. "I came to check on you. You looked upset earlier; is everything all right?"

"Yep," I answered shortly, looking away from him so he wouldn't be able to tell that I was lying. Apparently, he still caught it.

"Is this about Deidara?" he asked, sounding less that thrilled.

_Partly,_ I thought. "Yeah, I guess."

"Why don't you like her?"

I frowned to myself. As much as I hated to admit it… I still possessed a small, small iota of concern for my brother. "I just don't think she's who you think she is," I told him softly, not meeting his eyes.

"And why is that?" he asked, obviously straining to keep from sounding defensive.

"Well… her last boyfriend, Sasori. I mean, they were together for a long time, right? Then, he died in that car crash." He nodded, probably not sure where I was going.

"I, uh, I don't think she's over him yet," I confessed, embarrassed that he actually got the satisfaction of seeing me acting all… 'caring' or whatever. "I kind of get the feeling that she's only whoring herself off to you to make herself feel better."

He stared at me for a minute. The conflict was apparent on his face; he was hurt that I thought so little of his partner, but he was glad that I, for once, was being real with him. He was happy that I had just spoken to him without insulting _him,_ specifically. Finally, he spoke.

"I'm sorry you see her that way. Deidei and I have spoken about it, and she still misses Sasori, but she's over him in a romantic sense," he told me. I scoffed.

"So she says."

He just shook his head, disappointed. "I don't want to deal with you right now, Sasuke," he said, getting up. Not wanting to talk to him anymore, either, I let him go without a word. I knew he was getting pretty fed up with my pissy attitude, but I could care less at the moment. I had bigger things to worry about.

* * *

**Naruto Point of View**

I woke up the next morning to the sound of my phone ringing frantically. "Mmmn… shuddup!" I groaned sleepily, tossing a poorly aimed pillow at my nightstand and knocking my phone onto the floor, where it continued to produce incessant noise. Eventually, when I realized that I wasn't going to be able to fall back asleep anyway, I went over to the fallen object and picked it up, unsure whether I should check my messages or chuck the stupid thing at the wall.

When my groggy brain finally computed that I'd just have to buy a new phone if I threw my current one at a hard surface, I hit the menu button and went to my messages. I had about a dozen wishing me luck and telling me to do well on the retest. I grinned when I saw that I even had one from Sasuke. It read: "Naruto, try not 2 b an idiot. Prove 2 me tht I didn't waste my time :P"

His was the only one I bothered to respond to. "Kk, and thx so much 4 all th help! Cya lunch."

I made some coffee (with plenty of sugar and cream, of course) and a bagel and got dressed in a hurry, hoping to have time to pull out my notes before hopping into the car. After a quick glance at each sheet, covered in my sloppy handwriting, I took a final gulp from my mug before booking it out into the parking lot and sliding in behind my front wheel.

The second that I entered homeroom, Shikamaru and Lee were checking me up and down, making sure I had pencils, had eaten breakfast, and all of that good stuff. When they were satisfied, Lee looked at me happily and gave me an over-excited grin that could rival my own. "Sakura-san asked me to wish you good luck!" he relayed. I nodded with a small smile.

"Well, I'm glad Sakura-san is thinking about me," I teased.

"Oh! I mean, me too! Good luck from me," he clarified, letting out a nervous laugh. I punched him softly in the shoulder and shook my head. He was such a spaz.

"I figured."

Shikamaru cocked an eyebrow at me. "You really ready to do this?" he asked, only a little bit serious. I stuck my tongue out.

"I'm not as dumb as you think!" I insisted, tapping the side of my head to indicate that I possessed some smarts. He rolled his eyes.

"Whatever you say, stupid," he joked, sitting down with a lazy huff and pulling out a thick book. I shuddered at the thought of reading so many pages and made my way to my own seat.

Homeroom and first period passed rather uneventfully, and I didn't pay too much attention to what was being taught in class. I just repeated formulas over and over in my head, worked out short problems on scrap paper, and frowned, my brow creased in worry. What if I didn't do well again? What if I somehow did _worse_, and he averaged my grades together? I'd be done for! There'd be no way I could keep a C in Asuma's class! Out of nervousness, I began to chew my thumbnail into a jagged spike.

The bell signifying the end of first period rang like a death toll, sending me to my turn at the gallows. I don't know why I was so apprehensive; I was ready. I knew I was ready, and Sasuke knew it, too. So what was I freaking out for? Ugh, I really hated tests.

"Hey, Mr. A," I greeted the tall, bearded teacher, who was giving me a hopeful smile.

"Good morning, Naruto. Did you follow my advice about getting a tutor?" he asked as he beckoned me over to his desk.

"Yeah. Sasuke's been helping me out."

He looked up in surprise, pausing in mid-staple. "Really? I never thought Sasuke would be one to tutor. Hm. Well, I have confidence in you, then!"

I rolled my eyes jokingly. "Because you figured I'd fail before?"

He laughed. "Nah, you know I have faith in your abilities. You're a good kid, Naruto." I beamed. Yes, yes I was. He finished stapling the two papers together and handed them to me.

"Okay," he began, pointing to his door. "I'm sure you noticed the desk outside as you came in?"

"Mmn," I grunted in agreement, trying not to panic as I saw the pages packed with problems.

"That's your seat for today. I hope you don't mind; we're going over last week's test in class, so you'll understand." I nodded at him, then grinned.

"Thanks, Mr. Asuma," I said sincerely. He laughed again.

"Sure thing, Naruto. Now, show me what you can do!" I nodded again, encouraged by his good mood, and walked toward the door.

As I let go of the handle after stepping into the hall, I pulled the test in front of me, studying the first page carefully. I was amazed; I knew it! I knew the formulas, and I knew how to carry out my work! This was… wonderful. With a smile, I sat down in the empty desk and pulled a mechanical pencil and some lead out of my jeans pocket.

The clock inside the classroom was visible through a tiny rectangular window in the door I'd just come through, and I kept track of the time as I moved systematically through the questions. Each time I finished a problem, I grinned to myself; I actually understood what I was doing! My earlier nervousness banished, I completed it with time to spare.

After checking over all my answers, I was satisfied with my work; I knew I'd done well. A look of delight spread across my face. Just as class was about to end, I stood up and stretched with a sigh. Feeling accomplished, I stepped inside Mr. Asuma's room once again.

"Ah, Naruto!" he exclaimed, looking up from his paperwork. "All finished?"

"Yep!" I announced, pleased with myself. He bobbed his head slowly, reaching out for the paper, which I quickly shoved into his waiting hands. "Thanks, Mr. A!"

He chuckled. "Sure thing. I'll start checking it as soon as I can!" A tiny smile reached my lips as I turned to exit the room, the school bell having already rung. Today had gone well, I decided.

* * *

A while later, I was pointing to the distasteful dishes that looked edible and giving instructions to the butch lunch lady as I moved through the lunch line. Suddenly, there was a tap on my shoulder. I turned to find Sasuke standing behind me, looking sort of bored. "Come sit with me at lunch, okay?" he said, then moved away before I could answer. Impatient _teme._

I looked down at my tray in dismay, making a mental note to start bringing my own lunch one day, as I paid for my food. As I emptied the change from my pocket onto the counter, the woman in a hair net scowled. "You're fifty cents short."

"Huh?" Oh, damn it. Luckily, Sasuke, who had evidently come looking for me, since I was apparently too unbearably slow for him, was right there, and slapped two quarters in front of the woman before dragging me away roughly.

"H-hey, Sasuke!" I protested. "I'm gonna drop my food!" He gave me a weird look.

"You're really going to risk eating that? And, really, could you possibly take any more time?" I frowned at him.

"Could you be any less patient?" He 'hn'd at me again – God, I hated that – and continued to pull me toward the table where Gaara and Neji were now seated.

"Hey," I greeted them, giving a small wave. I didn't really know either of them, but they immediately gave me tiny smiles; good, they weren't jerks like Sasuke. Speaking of him, I looked up with a curious expression on my face. "Why did you decide I was going to sit here, again?" I asked. Then, hurriedly, I added, "No offense, you guys," to Gaara and Neji.

Sasuke shrugged. "I just realized you didn't even know my friends." I nodded.

"So, Naruto," Neji began. "How did the test go this morning?" Oh, so they knew about it, too? Well, I guess Sasuke would've told them.

"It was great!" I claimed, jabbing a thumb into my chest proudly. "There's no test that can get the best of Uzumaki Naruto, anyway!" Sasuke laughed and shook his head.

"You loser. What about the test you just took a week ago? And don't get so cocky, I'm the one who helped you."

I made a surly face at him before looking across the table again. "So, Neji, we haven't talked much since soccer ended. What's up?"

"Not much. Gaara and I have been working on a project for that witch, Tsunade." I nodded. The old sociology teacher was sort of a creeper; she was fifty-odd, but dressed like she was twenty. She had the biggest saggy boobs, too… ugh. It made me want to barf.

"I feel for you guys," I told them. "I really do. I would've killed myself a long time ago if I had her class."

Gaara spoke up next. "It's a tempting thought."

I laughed. "We'll say that you were doing your report on the black parade," I suggested, and he nodded, hiding a smile. See, nobody was resistant to my awesomeness! I spread happy wherever I was!

And in waltzes Sasuke the killjoy. "That's stupid, _dobe._ Don't joke about serious stuff."

I pouted. "Aww, you're no fun!"

"And you like cartoons," he countered. I could've reminded him that his taste in television was just as atrocious, but the look he gave me shut that thought down instantly, so I just sat back and brooded.

Lunch passed much the same. Sasuke and I bickered some, laughed some, and I learned a lot about Gaara and Neji. Gaara not only played guitar, but he was also an amateur singer/songwriter. Man, Sasuke's friends were talented. It kind of made me feel inferior. Neji had some sort of grudge against Hinata, and had a major crush on some senior girl, Tenten. All I knew about her was that she liked knives and was on cheer squad with Sakura. Knives and cheerleading seemed like a weird combination to me, but whatever.

All in all, Sasuke's friends were really cool. The four of us actually texted back and forth during fourth period. God, our teachers were so stupid sometimes.

After fourth ended, Asuma pulled me aside again. "What's up, sir?" I asked, hoping to hear good news. The look on his face boded well.

"Naruto, I'm so impressed with you!" he said, patting me on the back and handing me my papers.

"W-what?" I stammered, my eyes going wide as I stared at the paper. The front read "91 + 5 bonus = 96, A" in thick red ink. "No way." I couldn't believe it. It was unfathomable… I'd aced it! I laughed, relieved.

"In fact," he continued. "I'm so proud of you that I'm going to take this one as your final grade instead of averaging it with your other test. Sound good?"

"Y-yeah!" I finally choked out. "That sounds amazing! Oh, wow, Mr. A…"

He patted me on the back again. "You hang on to that, I've already got the grade. Well done, Naruto!"

* * *

"Sasuke! Sasuke!" I cried, papers flapping wildly in my hands while I made a mad dash across the parking lot to his car. Seriously, one of us needed to start parking closer to the other. It was too long of a walk. Anyway, my frantic calling had apparently gotten his attention, because he glanced up, and I swear, I could hear his 'hn' from fifteen feet away. He smirked, probably preparing to make some comment on my expression, which ticked me off. A second later, he started running, obviously having realized I wasn't going to stop.

When I barreled into him, he landed on the concrete with a loud grunt and a short pop, while I fell on top of him. I quickly righted myself. I grinned, knowing he wasn't really hurt from the annoyed look on his face, and continued to sit atop his fallen form, handing the papers to him. He made a surly look before swiping them out of my hands testily. His irate glare, however, was immediately replaced by a look of stunned happiness.

"You… you…"

"That's right!" I confirmed loudly. "I aced it!"

He stared at the paper, still in awe, and shook his head disbelievingly. "Wow. That's amazing, it really is."

"And the best part?" I added, gaining his attention. "Asuma was so happy with me that he's going to take this as my _final grade_, Sasuke! That probably pulled my overall grade up a shitload, right?"

He thought for a moment before answering. "Well, a decent amount. Maybe a point, a point and a half."

"Yeah!" I shouted, forcing myself off of him and doing some sort of head-banger punk rock guitar solo dance combo in a circle around him. He stared, probably thinking how about how stupid I looked. Ah, but he couldn't say anything, could he? Nope, because I'd just made a _ninety-fucking-six_ on my retest! Take that, Uchiha bastard!

After standing up and brushing himself off like a priss – a real man rolls in his filth – Sasuke turned his gaze to me once again. "Look," he began, "this is awesome. You wanna come to my place? We can celebrate the fact that you're not retarded, okay?" I nodded rapidly, curious to see the Uchiha abode.

"Eff yeah I do!" I cried, still bubbling over with the excitement of delivering my news.

He raised an eyebrow in rhetorical question before rounding on his heel, tossing a, "follow me to my house," over his shoulder as he clambered into his fancy car's front seat. Buzzing with anticipation – what was Sasuke's place like, if he had such a nice car? – I did as he said and hopped behind the wheel of my car, pulling out swiftly and nearly hitting a pole as I swung widely out of my parking space. Oops.

The sunlight gleaming through the canopy of the trees cast speckled shadows over the road as it flew away beneath my wheels. Sasuke's house… would his brother be there? My friend really seemed to hate him, no, _loath_ him with his entire being. In fact, even though we'd already spoken about him twice, I didn't even know the older man's name. How weird. I guess it'd never occurred to me to ask. Then again, I wasn't sure Sasuke liked to talk about his brother, so maybe he would've dismissed it as unimportant and not told me anyway.

Coming out of my thoughts, I realized that Sasuke was the only person I'd shared my good news with! Trying to keep my eyes locked on the road while I fished around in my pockets for my phone proved difficult, but I eventually found it. I quickly typed "Made a 96 on the test. Yeh, you just got pwned," and sent it to everyone in my group of friends, aside from Sasuke. I _knew_ being able to text without looking was a valid skill; look at how handy it had come in here!

I received a ton of replies, which I decided I could read later, but my interest was piqued when I heard Ino's ringtone playing. She was calling? Guess she had news. I flipped my phone up and held it to my ear, one hand on the steering wheel. "Hello?"

"Naruto!" she shrieked, using the fangirl tone usually reserved for Sasuke.

I waited for my ears to stop ringing, then hesitantly asked, "Yeah…?"

I could hear her repressing giggles. "Well… first, good job on the retest, that's really great!" I thanked her, more curious about whatever was happening with her. "Okay, so you'll never guess what happened today after lunch!"

Rolling my eyes, I replied, "You're right, I won't. What's up?" Wait, I rolled my eyes at Ino just because she was excited? Oh, God, what if Uchiha was rubbing off on me?

"Well, Shikamaru came up to me in the parking lot today," she began, drawling out her vowels. "And do you know what he did? Wait, you already said you didn't so, I'll just tell you! He, umm, he asked me out!"

I blinked in surprise. "Well, what did you say?"

"Yes, of course!"

Okay, now I was really confused. I thought that she liked Sasuke? When had this suddenly changed? I mean, it was great for Shikamaru – anyone with eyes could tell that he liked her, except for Ino, apparently – but I would never expect Ino to agree. What happened to all that 'Sasuke's so awesome!' stuff she was always spouting? When I expressed this, she laughed at me.

"Silly! Could you really not tell? I was doing that to make him jealous!" My jaw dropped. Damn, that Ino was sneaky. She knew that, with enough persistence, she could even make lazy ass Shikamaru ask her on a date! "I mean, he's really hot and all, and I'll probably not stop squealing over him," she explained. I rolled my eyes again. Of course not. "But I don't _love_ him like those other girls seem to." I nodded, taking in this new information.

"Well, then, congrats!" I told her, glad that those two were finally going somewhere together. They were perfect. "Where are you going?"

"I think we're going to go see a movie, then head somewhere for dinner. Got any suggeti—?"

"Ichiraku's," I immediately told her, cutting her off, the reply coming from my mouth without even having to think about it. It was my favorite restaurant of all time; it was the only place in town that you could get real, fresh ramen, unlike the packaged kind. Although, there was really nothing wrong with that either… anyway, it was fabulous.

She laughed at me. "How did I know you were going to suggest ramen?"

"Hey!" I protested. "That's not all they serve! Plus, ramen just kicks other foods' butts. Seriously, that stuff is, like, flown in on the wings of angels." She chuckled at me again.

"Maybe. We'll figure something out. Talk to you later, Naruto!"

"Yep. Later, Ino," I said before hanging up, realizing that we were pulling into Sasuke's driveway. I was surprised by what I saw. His house wasn't forty stories tall; in fact, it wasn't even four. There were two that I could see, and probably a basement tucked underneath. A line of smooth river stones bordered the gravel driveway and there was a tiny garden in front of the dark wooden porch. A large tree spread its branches in the middle of the front yard, casting a dark shadow over most of the grass. The exterior of the house consisted of brown horizontal panels, a glass door with a black border, followed by a thick black front door and several windows offering a view inside, where the lighting looked to be soft and warm.

"Get out," instructed Sasuke's voice. I jumped at the sound – where the hell had he come from, anyway? – and sent him a glare. He just rapped on my window with his knuckles again and said, "You're just staring at my house. Get out of your car if you want to come inside." With that, he turned and started walking toward his front door, his school bag slung over his shoulder. I grabbed my own bag and popped my door open, gravel crunching beneath my feet as I stepped down onto the driveway.

"Wait up!" I called as I followed him, jogging to catch up. He didn't slow down, but at least shot me a backward glance. That bastard! There was a smirk on his face! Oh, that was it. I sprinted ahead of him, racing along the path breaking off from the driveway. I was about to beat that jerk to his front porch when, suddenly, I realized that my feet weren't hitting the ground anymore as I tried to run. Damn it.

I couldn't help the yelp of pain I let out as I bit the gravel. I mean, really, rocks are… hard. My palms, which I'd put out in a futile attempt to stop my fall, were scratched and bleeding, and the pre-existing hole in my jeans had just been torn wider. In addition, my knee was scuffed. It didn't feel like the skin had been broken, though, which was good.

"Owww," I groaned as I tried to push myself up on shock-weakened arms, gravel shifting beneath me as I did so. Suddenly, a hand was on my wrist and that warm breath was on my neck again. Yeah, the kind that made me blush. I could feel my face heating up as Sasuke yanked me off of the ground, pulling me into a standing position. I didn't turn to face him; no way I was risking him seeing me look embarrassed! Instead, I straightened myself and brushed off my clothes, pulling a few rocks out of my jacket sleeves.

"That was really stupid, not to mention childish," Sasuke informed me sourly. I was about to say otherwise, but thinking back, I decided that it could only hurt me to say so at this point. There really was no way that that had been a smart move, so I settled for a grudging agreement.

"Yeah. You're right." He just shook his head at me when I finally turned around, frowning and looking generally put out that he'd been right. After seeing his amused look, I stuck my tongue out at him. It surprised me, his laugh. I don't know why, but it always did; he just didn't seem the happy type. Therefore, when a genuine laugh came from Sasuke – not just a short, pleased version of his 'hn', but a real laugh – I was kind of caught off guard.

His shoulders were hunched forward, and his frame shook gently. "Oh wow," he finally sighed. "You're such a loser. It's really pretty hilarious." I frowned even deeper before marching over to him. I wasted no time in raising a fist and punching him in the arm, hard. Not so much because I wanted to hurt him – I knew he was kidding – but more because I wanted to shut him up. He immediately changed his expression into his usual uncaring mask. "What was that for?"

"For calling me a loser," I explained. I was about to turn, but he caught my wrist again. I looked at him in confusion. "What?"

"You're bleeding."

Following his eyes, I saw that the blood from my left palm was starting to drip down the side of my hand. Apparently, I'd cut it worse than I originally thought. Wincing as he pulled my hand all the way open, I saw that this wound was different; a little rock must've run past my hand really quickly, because there was a very evident slice down the center of my palm. After seeing that, I felt like it was hurting a lot more.

"Ah! Sasuke!" I cried, not really knowing what to do and sucking air in through my teeth. Without a word, he dragged my by his hold on my wrist up his porch steps and through his front door, which was unlocked. Sasuke's brother must have been home, after all. He continued to pull me until we'd reached his kitchen sink, which he flicked on. Cold water came pouring out of the faucet. He immediately shoved my hand under the water.

"You idiot."

"… I know."

Suddenly, a new pair of footsteps could be heard coming toward us from down the hall. Before either of us had time to react, I could see the newcomer's face. His long black hair was pulled back into a loose ponytail, with several long strands hanging in his face. Black eyes almost identical to Sasuke's winked in the light from the lamp overhead. A tiny smile was lighting up his face, and he looked down at us. He looked just like an older version of Sasuke.

"Ah," he murmured. "I thought I heard more than one person in here." Advancing toward us, he looked specifically at me. "Are you Uzumaki Naruto?" Perplexed by the fact that he knew my name, I nodded slowly. I wouldn't think that Sasuke would talk about tutoring me to his brother; heck, I doubted Sasuke would normally talk about _anything _with his older brother. Who's name, by the way, I still didn't know.

"Yep, that's me!" I announced, grinning. "You're Sasuke's brother, right?"

"I sure am," he confirmed. Extending a hand, which I grasped, he introduced himself. "Uchiha Itachi, at your service." Looking more closely at the scene before him, he blinked in surprised. "Oh no, what happened here?"

Before I could respond, Sasuke answered Itachi's question for me. "The _dobe_ scratched his hand up. Not a big deal." I had heard Sasuke irritated, and I'd heard Sasuke be short, but never had I heard his voice so… cold. It was empty, devoid of all emotion. For a second, I felt something similar to fear jolt through my body, and I looked once more at the boy still clutching my wrist. He was no longer at ease; rather, his body had taken a defensive stance. His grip on me was tightening, although I don't think he realized it. I moved around a little until I could see his eyes, and jumped back. I'd never seen them so blank. There was nothing given away by those eyes, nothing at all.

The two stared at one another for a moment, not exchanging words, but rather building tension. Sasuke's look was daring Itachi to say something. It said, 'just try and talk. See what'll happen.' Finally, the older Uchiha spoke.

"I'll go get some bandages." With that, Itachi went back down the hall he'd come from. Sasuke relaxed once again, sinking back into an easy position. His eyes, however, continued to glare down the hall. I wrestled my hand from Sasuke's grip and turned the water off, trying to look at the cut before it started to pool blood again. It wasn't too bad; I'd probably live, somehow. After another long minute without speech, I decided to break the silence.

"I didn't realize things were… _so_ bad between you and your brother."

He looked at me when I spoke. Thank God, not with the same eyes that he used one Itachi; if he had, I might have actually taken a step away from him. They looked… questioning. "Well, I mean, I told you I hated him, right?"

I raised an eyebrow. "Yeah, well, usually when people say that about family members, they don't exactly mean it the way you do," I explained. "Normally, it's like 'oh, yeah, we don't exactly get along great', not 'get out of my life' kind of hate." He nodded.

"I'm sorry you had to see that," he finally said after a long pause. "It's... uh, not okay for me to drag you into my family problems or let you see us fight. Because, you see, that's _how_ I fight with him; I don't say anything."

"Why?"

"Are we really gonna talk about this?" he asked shortly. I shook my head, eliciting a sigh from him. He looked down at the floor. "In all honesty? Sometimes I wish my brother didn't even exist."

* * *

**A/N: Yepyep, Naruto's at Sasuke's house!**

**...oh God. That can ONLY mean impending yaoi.**

**So... you guys wanna review? Because there weren't so many PoV changes or even pagebreaks in this chapter (the first one that I'm actually happy with! Sorta), I was kinda hoping that I could get at least ten from you guys? ^^"**

**Anywho, love you all! :D**


	5. Awkward

**A/N: *sniffs* you guys... I got TONS of reviews on that last chapter! Thanks! Thanks sooooo much! Gah I am SO happy right now! :'D**

******Just wanna go ahead and thank my anonymous reviewers, whose reviews I don't get the chance to reply to :) thx u ppls!**

******Also, Houseki, the expression "50-odd" means 50... and then some other number in the ones place xD Like anywhere from 51-59. P.S. love how you included the WHOLE section about Tsunade's boobs just to point out that one thing XDDD and thanks for pointing out that I used the wrong 'too' as well - not sure how I missed that!**

******Hugs for Houseki, L's Avenger, and mYtORnsaNaLs for being awesome enough to review every single chapter... *bows* you guy are fantastic!**

*******looks down* *gasps* Could this be... a chapter with no PoV changes or pagebreaks? Well, You'll just have to read to find out, neh? :)**

* * *

Chapter 5

**Naruto Point of View**

I let my injured hand drop to my side, and my eyes widened in shock. "H-how could you say that?" I stammered, awed by this new bit of information from Sasuke. "How can you say that you don't want your brother to exist?" Family ties were supposed to be strong. The strongest, really. So… to say something like that….

He stared at me for a long while, his frown obviously masking some other emotion, although I couldn't tell what that was. I met his gaze and we stood there, locked on each others' eyes. This wasn't like the stare-down between Sasuke and Itachi moments before; rather, it was a troubled friend looking at me in hopes of finding a way to explain the emotion behind his reasoning. I didn't understand what emotions were held inside him, but in that moment, I knew that they were powerful and filled him with strong feelings for his brother, some positive, many negative. It was only then that I realized just how complicated of a person Sasuke was.

He finally opened his mouth slightly, as if beginning to talk, but before he could speak, we were interrupted by Itachi's return. "I've got them," he informed us, referring to the bandages he held in his hand. "Sorry it took so long. I had some band-aids, but it suddenly occurred to me that those wouldn't stick on your palms. Duh." He began to unroll a length of gauzy fabric, which he then tore off. I stretched my hand out to him, looking to Sasuke to see what his reaction to this would be. To my dismay, Itachi's presence had caused the younger Uchiha's mask of indifference to reappear on his face.

Itachi pulled out a tiny tube of Neosporin and put a daub on his index finger, which he smeared on the cut. I couldn't help the tiny hiss that escaped me as the cream worked its way into the open wound.

"You okay?" Itachi inquired, looking up with concern. Despite the obvious problem Sasuke had with him, I couldn't find anything wrong with the guy; he seemed really nice to me!

"Yeah, m'fine. Just stings." He nodded and proceeded to wrap the bandage around my palm, tying it in a tight knot on the back of my hand.

"All good?"

"Yeah!" I replied, turning my hand so that I could look at his handiwork. "Thanks, Itachi!" To the side, I could hear Sasuke huff; he was obviously displeased by our interactions.

Itachi, meanwhile, suddenly perked up, seeming to have remembered something. "Naruto, I forgot to ask; how did your test go today? If I remember correctly, yesterday was the last day of tutoring, was it not?" With that last question, he looked to Sasuke hopefully, surely trying to elicit some sort of acknowledgment from his younger sibling other than open hostility.

Instead of replying to Itachi, Sasuke decided instead to address my confused look. "I had to tell him where I was going to be after school, idiot," he explained, cocking his head to the side and shrugging. I nodded in response. Guess that made sense. I never really had to tell anyone if I was going out after school, since Kakashi didn't live with me, so it hadn't really occurred to me that Sasuke would have to check with his brother. I turned to Itachi, hoping to provide the information that Sasuke refused to supply him with.

"Yeah, I took the test today. It went really great, thanks for asking! I even managed to ace it, by some miracle known as your brother." I sent him my signature goofy smile, which he returned. Despite his beaming exterior, however, I noticed a moment later that he cast a short, sad glance in Sasuke's direction. Now, I didn't know their history very well, but it seemed to me that Sasuke was sort of being an ass at the moment.

"So," Itachi sighed, clapping his hands together. "I was wondering if you'd stay for dinner, Naruto. That is, if Sasuke also agrees…?"

"Sure. Whatever," was the _teme's_ grumpy reply. I couldn't help but feel hurt; did he not want me here that long? Just as I was beginning to worry, however, I saw the apologetic look he gave me. Oh, I got it. Some of this was just a façade he put up specifically _for_ his brother. Interesting.

"Alright, it's settled! I was planning on making spaghetti tonight, if that's okay with you, Naruto," Itachi informed me. I nodded in agreement; my preference was ramen, but any kind of noodles would do just fine! My stomach gurgled happily at the thought of the meal.

Itachi nodded at us, and I was once again, grabbed by the wrist. "Hey!" I shouted as I staggered forward, barely keeping my balance at the unexpected jerk toward the hall. "Sasuke, where are we going?"

"My room," he replied, giving no other explanation. I shrugged and pulled my hand from his grip, following him; what else was I going to do, anyway? When we arrived in his room, he promptly shut the door behind him before heading straight to his bed, heaving a labored sigh as he sat down on the edge and fastened his fingers in his hair.

"You okay?" I asked awkwardly. He looked pretty stressed about whatever had just happened between him and Itachi.

"Yeah." Then, with a tiny grin, he pulled his laptop into his lap, pressing the power button. I could hear the gears humming as the machine came to life, a small green light flashing to show that it was starting up.

"What're you doing?"

"Well, I was thinking," he started to explain. "That you might like to hear some of Gaara's music." So he had some of the redhead's songs recorded on there? Cool! I immediately hopped onto the bed beside him, bouncing a few times before the mattress settled down. As he began to play the recording, I was instantly stunned by the smoothness of Gaara's voice accompanied by his guitar. It was really… soft and airy, but not in a bad way. Hard to describe. "See, pretty good, huh?" Sasuke asked me, seeing the look on my face.

"Uhh, _yeah!"_ I cried. "That kid's going places! Bet we'll see him popping up in music stores all over the place. Then, we'll be all like, 'I knew that guy in high school!' and everyone else will be like, 'STFU man there's no way you knew this uber pwnz guy' and yeah it'll be good." Sasuke stared at me in silence before he started sniggering softly.

"God, you're so weird."

We messed around, listening to more music, visiting various websites, and generally annoying the hell out of each other for the next few hours. A while later, Itachi called us for dinner. I jumped up quickly, prowling toward the kitchen like a hungry wolf. The smell of pasta had been drifting through the vent into Sasuke's room for a while now. The food smelled like heaven; Itachi's cooking might be taking second place on my favorite foods list tonight. The first spot belonged to ramen, of course. Sasuke frowned distastefully and got up, following me and looking generally emo.

I'll bet my eyes were as big as orbs as soon as I stepped into that kitchen (I remembered the way! Hah!), because there on the counter sat an enormous bowl piled high with noodles, a smaller bowl of homemade tomato sauce residing next to it, and a basket of tantalizing garlic bread smothered in butter. Warm, delicious steam rose from the pasta, and I wasted no time in shooting across the kitchen to Itachi's side. As I glanced back at Sasuke, I felt a little bad – did I have so little loyalty? – but I no longer regretted the decision when Itachi handed me a gleaming white plate and told me to help myself to whatever I wanted. Sorry, _teme._

I took the large black utensil prodding out of the pasta and wasted no time in heaving an enormous mound onto my plan, laughing somewhat maniacally. Poor noodles; they were goners for sure. Next, I put a tiny dollop of the tomato sauce on it. I'd eat it because it smelled good, but a lot of sauce had never really been my thing. Of course, I couldn't settle for one slice of garlic bread; two were claimed by my greedy fingers and transported to my plate. Once I was satisfied with my haul, I turned to Itachi, who looked up from the plate he was fixing for himself. "Yes?"

"Umm, I was wondering where your cups were," I mumbled, trying to avoid drooling over my food. He gestured to the third cabinet from the fridge, which actually had a glass door. Oh. Duh. There were tall glass cups glinting at me from inside. I felt smart.

"Right up there," he supplied.

"Thanks!" I grabbed one and filled it with ice and water from the fridge, and returned to my plate.

"Where are we eating?" I asked.

"Well, you ca—."

"Nope, we're eating in my room," Sasuke told me, cutting his brother off. I looked over to see that he, himself, had a rather large amount of sauce on his plate. I nodded, moving toward the hall.

"Is it cool if I wait for you up there, then?" I asked. He nodded and handed me a fork and knife from the drawer in front of him. Oh, right. Kinda needed those. After taking the silverware, I marched back up the stair and plopped down in a navy blue beanbag chair in the corner. Man, those things were so comfy. Just as I was preparing to almost literally inhale my plate, Sasuke rejoined me.

"I get the feeling you like tomatoes, Sasuke," I commented, pointing at the huge blob of sauce he had. He nodded once.

"I do. In fact, they're my favorite food." Hm. I never would've guessed that. Not really something you'd expect, you know? Anyway, I grinned at him.

"Cool! My favorite food is ramen. Never would've guessed it, would you?"

He rolled his eyes at me. "Nope. Never. I'm shocked," he told me, voice dripping with the sarcasm he had mastered so well. I laughed softly, brushing off the reply and glancing around the room. Everything seemed pretty average; nice big bed, desk and lamp, pile of school junk, bookshelves, dresser, and… oh! Well, that caught my eye! There, in the corner directly across from me, stood a tall metal filing cabinet. If I squinted, I could just barely make out the labels on the drawers from my seat across Sasuke's bedroom. The top drawer was labeled '_Requests/ Commissions', _the middle one was proclaimed to be '_Assignments/Practice/Edited'_, and the bottom drawer apparently contained '_Random/ Casual Photography'_. When I read that label, it finally clicked; this was his _photo_ cabinet! Maybe I'd take a peak.

I swallowed a large mouthful of pasta, creating an audible gulp that resonated around the silent room. Yes, the room was silent; apparently, as much as Sasuke loathed his sibling, he, too, was weakened by the complete _awesomeness_ of Itachi's cooking. My friend was scarfing his down quickly, although he managed to look much more refined than I surely did, being as I was reclined in the corner in a beanbag chair with noodles flying everywhere and sauce spattered on my face. I took a sip of my water before I got up with a tiny grunt, setting my food down in my seat and proceeding to cross the room. Sasuke swallowed and spoke cautiously, "Where are you going, _dobe?_"

"Looking at your pics!"

He immediately shot up. "No! No, they're all terrible, don't look!" He actually looked sort of… panic-y when he was being all self-conscious. It was pretty cute… wait, what? Shoot, I guess my 'friend-crush' was steadily getting worse.

"Re-_lax,_" I instructed, waving a lazy hand at him. "I'm not here to judge you, I'm just curious to see what you like to snap pictures off when you're off being artsy and such!" He pouted, but sat back down and crossed his arms, making no move to stop me. I grinned, victorious, and crouched down in front of the cabinet. Gesturing to the first drawer by pointing upwards, I asked, "So you get paid to take pictures of stuff?"

"And people," he told me, confirming my thoughts. "Actually, I've made a lot of money off of that; it's how I paid for my laptop and my current camera."

"Mmn," I mumbled, maybe a little jealous. Some of us just weren't talented like you, Mr. Oh-so-fabulous! I wasn't really interested in the second drawer; just assignments and edits, right? Blegh. The bottom drawer, and the one I was truly curious about, was just in front of me. I grasped the cool metal handle and yanked it open to reveal dozens of folders packed with photographs. I leafed through, reading the tabs of each of the folders in search of a promising name. On one, the words 'mechanic shop' were written in blue ink. I raised an eyebrow and pulled it out.

As I flipped through the pictures – mostly car parts and wall shots – I noticed that several of the mechanics were smiling and staring at the camera with looks on their faces that showed that they were familiar with the situation. Yes, I could read facial expression very well; one of those weird, usually-useless gifts, you know? Anyway, now I was curious. How did these car guys know Sasuke?

"Who works at a mechanic shop?" I asked, looking up at him. He wrinkled his nose , looking less than pleased, and replied rather sourly.

"Itachi used to have a part-time job at Joe's Muffler downtown, back before his biology teachers really started cracking down about two months ago. It wasn't a job that paid particularly well, but it was a job nonetheless. I guess it's a good thing that Itachi is going to school on a scholarship right now, because we're just skimming money off the top of his would-have-been college fund until he gets his next degree, and then he's going to have to hope and pray that he gets the money to go to medical school after that. But, bah, he was always the 'family prodigy' anyway, so if he gets into contact with Mom and Dad, they'll probably give him money," Sasuke explained, his tone growing cold toward the end. I nodded, taking it in and finishing looking at the pictures. When I was done with the folder, I put it back and rifled around in the drawer some more. Suddenly, I caught sight of my own name.

In black ink this time, a manila folder was labeled '_Naruto lol'_. Surprised that Sasuke would keep pictures of me, I opened it wordlessly. I immediately recognized them; they were from the day that we'd been goofing around in my apartment! There we were sticking our tongues out at the camera; there was even me and Kyuu-chan! An uncontrollable smile spread across my face, and I felt like it must be as wide as my ears, at least. "I can't believe you kept them!" I whispered, unable to control the blush that began to grow in my cheeks. What? Oh, not now! Damn!

I didn't want to turn and look at him now, but I could still hear the nervousness in his voice as he replied, "Erm, yeah… well, they were actually pretty good pictures, so I, uh, I kept them." I laughed.

"You make up bad excuses," I informed him, getting up and batting at the side of his head with the folder. He swallowed another bite of his food and looked down calmly before, out of the blue, his arm shot up and he stole the folder away from me, almost faster than I could see. As soon as he had it, he put it on his other side, still calm. I pouted. "You're so mean to me, Sasuke! You ruin all my fun!"

He raised an eyebrow and looked at me. "That was fun? Well, then, you have a very cruel sense of humor. If irritating people is fun for you, what else is?" He tapped a finger on his chin in an exaggerated motion, pretending to think. "Well, I suppose I could see you shoving old ladies. Oh, or maybe stealing candy from small children!" I stuck my tongue out at him and looked away, arms folded over my chest.

"I don't think any of that's fun! Of course, you wouldn't know fun if it bit you in your goddamn, emo, girly arse, would you?" He was suddenly right in front of me, fist raised and eyes blazing. I doubted that he'd really hit me, but you never know. Therefore, I instinctively took a step back and raised my arms above my face. I waited for him to take advantage of the moment and hit me, but all I heard was a mocking laugh.

"You're afraid of me," he stated smugly. "You idiot. You have the guts to call me girly, but you curl up and don't even try to fight back when I advance on you." He chucked again. "_Dobe._"

I frowned at him, hurt and a little angry. That was just a mean trick. Not wanting to deal with him at the moment, I excused myself by saying, "I have to go to the bathroom." Grumbling to myself, I shoved my hands into my pockets and stalked out into the hall, scuffing my feet as I searched for the room. I opened a few doors, but none of them led to the bathroom. Then, I came to another closed wooden door, but a soft light was glowing within, escaping into the hall in the crack underneath the door. Curious, I opened the door hesitantly, peeking around inside. I almost cried out when I caught sight of a dark, breathing form, but as it turned to face me, I realized it was only Itachi. Breathing a sigh of relief and laughing at my own stupidity, I smiled at him. "Hey, Itachi!"

"Ahh, Naruto!" he said happily, eyes squinting closed as he grinned. "I was hoping to run into you at some point tonight. Please, do you have a moment to sit?" He gestured to a rolling chair across the room. I entered all the way and took my seat, scooting forward to get closer to Sasuke's older brother.

"So what's up?" I asked, wondering what he could want with me.

"I just wanted to thank you."

"Huh?" I inquired, very confused. "Thank me? For what?" As far as I could remember, I hadn't done anything all that helpful for him. I'd eaten all his food and made him fix my hand; _I _should be thanking _him!_

"It's just that, I noticed today," Itachi began to explain, smiling. "That Sasuke is very comfortable being around you. He treats you like he would treat a best friend, and I don't think he's ever gotten close enough to anyone to really experience that before." He rolled his eyes and sighed. "Look at me babbling. What I'm trying to say is…" his look softened, and he seemed… warm, I guess you'd say. " Sasuke is never this comfortable with anyone. You've managed to get close to him, and in the short time I've seen you two together, he's happier than I've seen him in a long time. So, thank you." He ended with an appreciative grin. I smiled back. Itachi really cared about Sasuke, and I was glad to know that. Suddenly, a thought struck me.

"Itachi?"

He looked at me curiously. "Yes?"

"Why is it that Sasuke doesn't like you?"

Itachi looked at me for a long while before turning away with a sad huff. "Years ago," he told me soberly. "Back when I was your age, my friends and I were out one night. They were talking about their parents, and… well, I felt left out. You see, our parents were quite busy when Sasuke and I were young. Mother worked overseas, Father headed the police department. All this is probably earlier than what you'd be expected to remember, but our family was highly respected in the town on Konoha. We had many relatives who also held important positions living nearby, and the Uchiha clan flourished. However, there was a flaw in our system.

"You see, our home lives were not something to be envious of. Mother and Father left us alone almost all the time. If we were lucky, an aunt or an uncle would be off of work for the day and would come take care of us, but it was mostly Sasuke and myself. From the time he could walk and talk, Mother and Father deemed me capable of caring for him. He could communicate his needs, and I was a responsible seven-year-old boy with enough sense to use the microwave and call 911; what more did they need? But there was always… loneliness.

"So, back to that night out with my friends. After they started talking about their parents, they asked me what my folks were like. And, honestly, it had been so long since Sasuke and I spent any time with them… that I could barely remember. After that night, I was angry a lot. I _hated_ my family; what right did they have to leave Sasuke and me alone? We might as well live by ourselves, right? Finally, I came to the conclusion that there was no point in Sasuke, who was still only ten, being left at home with me, waiting for Mother and Father to come home. Even when they were home, they barely had time to talk to us. Mother tried. She did. She just… couldn't. And Father? Well… he was called out at all hours of the night for police business.

"Long story short, I got emancipated from the family. I didn't want to belong to those people anymore." There was a look of hatred in his eyes. "Maybe it was a foolish choice, but I was young and distressed. Perhaps I should have waited for Sasuke to grow a little more…" He looked distant for a moment, but quickly shook it away. "I knew I couldn't leave Sasuke by himself at age ten, even though I was younger when I'd been told to watch him; it just wasn't fair, wasn't healthy. So, I fought for his custody, and after many battles in the courtroom, finally won. However, I didn't expect Sasuke's reaction.

"He was upset. Angry. Sad. He didn't feel like he had control over his own life anymore. After all, I'd made all the decisions for him. And, over time, he learned to suppress him emotions so that he wasn't angry with everyone all the time and go on leading a normal life, trying to cling onto the shreds of the past, by channeling _all_ those negative emotions at me. I thought he'd get better as he made friends, but we're still here today, so…." The man shrugged, a somber look adorning his features. I was speechless. Sasuke's family was… with that crazy of a childhood, no wonder he was so closed off. Itachi was lucky; he was the type that didn't hold a grudge, and he'd gone on living as happily as he could. Sasuke, however, was a different story.

I could hardly imagine it, the agony of having your family suddenly torn away by somebody you trusted. I wasn't upset with Itachi for what he'd done, but if I were in Sasuke's position… well, I might have done the same thing. I wasn't sure. Luckily, I'd found friends early on, and, having never known my family, I had no idea what I'd lost. If you can call that lucky, I guess.

"W-wow," I stuttered, finally finding my voice. He nodded and looked like he was going to say something, but suddenly, the door to the office room was flung open by none other than Sasuke. Something close to alarm showed on his face as he stared at me, eyes wide and cheeks slightly flushed, probably from the anger that was starting to boil up in him. I knew he wouldn't like this.

"What the _hell,_" he hissed, expression changing from surprised to seething. "Are you doing in _here?_ Talking to _him?_" I flinched at his tone; it sounded sharp and cutting, but I picked up on something else buried deep in there. It was… defensive. That was the word I was looking for. He scowled at me when I didn't reply. "Well?" I remained silent and didn't dare to glance at Itachi. Sasuke finally stepped into the room and grabbed my forearm, muttering angrily about 'stupid _dobes_' and 'corrupting brothers'.

When we finally stopped, it was in front of a door I didn't recognize. "_This,_" he informed me, rapping on the door for good measure. "Is the bathroom. I think you got lost." I just gave him a blank stare. I couldn't believe him. He was so…! We locked eyes and glared at each other for a moment. Finally, he blinked and turned away, shaking his head. "I'll be in my room."

When I joined him a moment later, I found him sitting on the edge of his bed again, hands clasped over his lap. He was staring up at the ceiling, looking sort of upset about something. "Sasuke?" I asked, entering quietly. The animosity from earlier was forgotten, at least on my part; now I needed to find out what was bugging him. "Are you okay?"

He continued to look at the ceiling, as though he hoped to find something there. He spoke slowly and softly. "When we had that sort-of fight earlier," he mumbled, clenching his fists. "Did you really… think I was going to hit you?" Oh, that. Well, I didn't really remember what was going through my head at the time.

"Well… I, uh, don't—."

He cut me off. "I hope you know," he said firmly, turning to look at me, eyes fierce. "That I would never hurt you. I don't want you to ever think I would." He was being really sincere with me; probably more sincere than he'd ever been in the time I'd known him. And he was worried, too.

"Of course I know that," I told him, cocking my head to the side and smiling gently. "Don't be dumb." We just sort of watched each other for a moment, not exchanging words; we didn't have to. Everything was alright now, and we both knew it. Suddenly, he started laughing.

"_You_ just told me not to be dumb?" He continued to laugh, his happiness ringing all around the room. Oh, so he got that much of kick out of it? That was just mean! I frowned and sneered at him, pointing an angry finger at him.

"Hey! _Teme!_ Shut the hell up, it's not—no! Shut up! It's not funny!" Apparently, my words had little affect on him, because his laughs only died down a little. Fed up with him again already, I turned my nose up. "I think _you're_ dumb!"

"And why is that?"

"Cause… uh… because you're an idiot!" I replied grandly, nodding once to affirm it. He nodded back, obviously still thinking I was being stupid. That jerk! When he had control over himself again, he looked up at me, eyes serious once again.

"But seriously, I'd never do anything to hurt you. I was just thinking about how I don't think there's been a single person in I don't know how long that can get as many genuine laughs out of me as you can. I haven't laughed so much in six years." I blinked in surprise. Six years… that was when Itachi got emancipated, wasn't it? Oh. I saw the connection.

I thought about the explanation that Itachi had given me for Sasuke's hatred, and reason was starting to take shape. The argument still seemed a little weak, though. Was Sasuke just a jerk? No, he could act the part at times, but he wasn't really. So what could it be? Either way, I was sure that Itachi didn't know all the reasons behind Sasuke's anger.

The clinking of dishes roused me from my thoughts. Sasuke was gathering his cup and plate up. He looked over to me as he moved towards the beanbag chair I'd been sitting in.

"Done?"

"Yeah," I answered, giving him consent to take my plate to the kitchen with his own. He reached down to grab it, and I reclined against the wall, watching him in amusement as he straightened my corner up. "You know," I told him haughtily. "You should get a job as a house maid. You'd be great at it!" He glared at me as he walked past toward the door.

"Shut up, idiot." I shrugged at him, now unperturbed by the insult. Suddenly, I noticed that my school bag was right in his path. Since it wasn't usually in his room, Sasuke probably didn't even notice it. I opened my mouth to shout a warning, but I was too late; his foot caught on the strap.

The plates crashed to the floor, shattering, and Sasuke was following quickly. _Oh, shit! _ He was going to land on the plate debris! Instinctively, my arm shot out and caught his shoulder, which was just within my reach. He gasped as his body stopped in mid fall, and I yanked him back up quickly. Unfortunately, in that moment, I didn't realize that I was pulling his right towards me; all I thought was, _get Sasuke away from sharp glass._

As I was slammed back against the wall, three things registered in my mind. One, there was going to be a huge lump on the back of my head the next day. Two, the weight of Sasuke's body pressed against mine was squashing my ribcage. Ouch. Three… there was a pair of pale lips pressed smack on top of mine.

My eyes widened at that last revelation. It seemed that Sasuke realized the situation at the same time I did, because he suddenly stopped breathing. I found that I, also, wasn't breathing. We locked eyes once again, neither of us daring to be the one to move and break the moment. I didn't know what to do, and he didn't appear to, either. I could slowly feel a blush creeping its way onto my face, which only got darker as Sasuke pressed his lips harder onto mine.

Oh, God. Oh, my God. Reacting without thought, I leaned forward, pushing my lips against his as well. He reached out, and I could feel his hands trembling as he grabbed my jacket, squeezing his eyes shut and pressing his chest further against mine. I inhaled deeply, breathing in his scent. He smelled like tomatoes; what do you know. I raised a shaking arm and hung it around his neck, then slowly allowed my other arm to join it. We were both trembling now, with excitement and terror. Both of us were aware of what was going on, but neither wanted to stop.

Slowly, he opened his mouth just slightly, poking his tongue against my lips, lapping at them tentatively. The tingle I felt was driving insane ecstasy through my body, and I clutched him even tighter. Daringly, I opened my mouth, too, my own tongue venturing out to touch his. I could feel him tense as they met; I did, too. Everything was on fire.

He shoved his tongue into the warm cavern of my mouth swiftly, circling his tongue around mine. I flicked his tongue with mine, and he opened his mouth even wider, tilting his head more to get a better angle. He licked all around the inside of my mouth, and I was amazing that I hadn't turned into a puddle at his feet. It was unbelievable, the euphoria I got from kissing him. I'd never felt more alive.

Suddenly, we were cut short when a solid knock pounded against the door. We jumped apart, and within seconds, we were on opposite sides of the room. I didn't know about him, but I was shaking and bright red, eyes trained on my feet. Itachi came through the door.

"Sasuke, I heard a crash. Is everything okay?"

I was impressed that Sasuke could even speak after that. I knew I couldn't. "Y-yeah," he stammered, breathing heavily. "Some plates just fell. N-no big deal." His older brother nodded, spying the shattered dishes on the floor.

"Well, alright. I just got off the phone with Dei, and she's coming over tomorrow morning," Itachi told us, looking at Sasuke. "So, try to be nice to her, okay, Sasuke?" He frowned at us, eyes darting between the me and my flushed counterpart. "Did I interrupt something?" he inquired cautiously.

"No!" I squeaked.

"Nope, nothing at all! Leave now, I'll clean this up," Sasuke quipped, ending with a nervous chuckle. Itachi gave us strange looks, but nodded slowly.

"Okay. Well, if that's the case, I thought I'd tell you two that it's getting pretty late. If you want, Naruto can just stay the night; he can borrow pajamas from you, right, Sasuke?" The younger Uchiha nodded, and Itachi smiled. "You'd like to stay, right?"

"O-of course!" I stuttered, failing miserably to sound like nothing had happened. He just looked from me to Sasuke once more before grunting an 'okay', mumbling about some paper he had to write as he left.

Needless to say, when the door shut, neither of us could look the other in the eyes. Few words were exchanged for the rest of the night; there was nothing we could say, at least not yet. I messed around on facebook for a while. He texted back and forth with Gaara. When Itachi told us to turn the lights out, I knew he was as relieved as I was. We came to the decision that there was no way we could both sleep on his bed. We didn't mention what happened earlier.

I slept on the floor.

* * *

**A/N: Poor Naru-chan, sleeping on the floor! **

**Yes, to answer a question I'm sure will come up; that kiss was SUPPOSED to be extremely awkward ;) XD hence the title of the chapter.**

**Alright, guys, if you can _review_ just as much as you did last time... I dunno, I think I might die of joy xDDD But I'll come back in time to update in four days! Cya then!**


	6. Denial

**A/N: Aaand... the dreaded PoV changes return. Ah, but this chapter will make you all very happy, so it's okay! Neh? lol ;)**

**Bwahahahaha :D The love triangle develops in ways we never saw coming! Huzzah!**

**Got 11 reviews last chapter - excellent job, my lovely readers! Think you can do it again?**

**Ah, but wait! I'm not supposed to do that til the end of the chapter! Well, I know you'll be waiting with bated breath for my review-whoring A/N as you read chapter 6!**

* * *

Chapter 6

**Naruto Point of View**

My eyes cracked open blearily, and I stared at the wall facing me. Hrm, the walls in my room were a different color. Where was I…?

Oh, yeah.

With a sleepy sigh, I pushed myself up from my makeshift bed of comforters and blankets on the floor next to Sasuke's bed. With a groan, I clasped my hands together and stretched my muscles, which apparently didn't like the floor very much, because my back hurt like a bitch. Sasuke had already gotten up, I guess, because his covers were kicked back and his bed abandoned. With a grunt, I fell onto his bed. Immediately, I was jealous; his bed was so soft! He couldn't have been up for long, because it was still warm with residual body heat. I could just fall right back asleep. How dare that asshole make me sleep on the floor while he got this awesome bed to himself! I inhaled deeply, and I was immediately assaulted by the aroma of fresh tomatoes. Why was that so familiar?

Right. All of a sudden, the memories of last night's, erm, incident came flooding back to me. I probably would have blushed had I not been so groggy, and even so, I could feel my stomach churning in fear and delight. It had been… good. Like, really good. Better than any kiss I'd ever even _dreamed_ of sharing with a girl. But… something was wrong. The whole time, it seemed like Sasuke was scared. Almost as if he wanted to go on, but at the same time, _didn't_ want to. Borrowing Shikamaru's catchphrase, because, hey, it was a damn good one, I rolled off of the bed, muttering, "Troublesome." Better than something stupid like 'Believe it', right?

My feet pattered softly down the hall, leading me to the kitchen. I trusted that they'd get me there somehow, because _I_ sure didn't remember the way. Thankfully, I came to my destination a moment later to find Itachi cooking something in a pan over the stove and Sasuke sitting at the counter, half-asleep, with a glass of orange juice. "Morning," I mumbled, letting a yawn out as I moved to take a seat next to Sasuke.

"Morning," Itachi replied. As I drew closer, I saw that he was making eggs. Oh, good, I was starved.

"Good morning, dobe," Sasuke greeted me, sounding just as tired as he looked. Curious, I tried to get a better look at his face. His chin was propped up in his hand, and his eyes were rimmed with dark circles and were half-lidded. As I completed my quick analysis, I concluded that he couldn't have gotten more than a few short hours of sleep.

"Sasuke," I whispered to him awkwardly. "About last night…"

He looked at me, denial already clear in his eyes. "Yeah, I'm glad you stayed over. Although, I wish you hadn't looked through my photo cabinet; how awful were they, huh? Most of those are old, so—"

I cut him off. "Sasuke! You know what I mean!"

He blinked, false confusion showing on his face. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

What. The hell. He was going to pretend it never happened? What a douchebag! "You know exactly what I'm talking about, you bastard!" I whispered harshly, giving him the most menacing death glare I could muster so early in the morning.

"Nothing happened, dummy."

"What the heck are you talking about? Are you saying that it meant nothing?"

He frowned at me, realizing that I was going to be stubborn. He looked coldly into my eyes and grasped my shoulder tightly, enunciating each word as he stated firmly, "Nothing happened."

I wrinkled my nose in anger and was on the verge of screaming at him when the doorbell rang. Itachi turned the temperature of the stove down and wiped his hands off on a kitchen towel, rounding on us. "Sasuke, that's Dei. Be pleasant, or… I don't even know. Just _try_ not to make us miserable today, okay?" he pleaded before moving out of the room toward the front door. As soon as the older man was gone, I wrenched my shoulder out of Sasuke's grip, turning away from him. I already knew I'd talk to him again later, because I was that much of a pushover, but right now… just, no.

A minute or so later, Itachi walked into the kitchen, with a new addition; there was a bubbly blond girl hanging on his arm. Assuming this was Dei, I made the connection; it was his _girlfriend!_ Oh. Well, he couldn't have done better, in my opinion! Maybe it was that stupid pervy teacher, Jiraiya, rubbing off on me, but my eyes were immediately drawn to her low-cut, tight short-shorts that were perhaps a little _too_ tight around her crotch. But, then again, was there such thing as 'too tight' when it came to girls? Hehe, not in my opinion. As I dragged my eyes upward, hoping they didn't linger _too_ long on her breasts – didn't need a pissed Itachi after me – I noticed that about half of her hair hung over her left eye. How mysterious. It was really… sexy. Oh, yeah, Itachi's girlfriend was _nice_. She could hang as long as she wanted.

Damn, being bi was awesome sometimes.

Sasuke, on the other hand, turned away, looking pissy. "Deidara," he stated, not even trying to fabricate a warm tone. She smiled and waved, regardless.

"Hi, Sasuke!" Her voice was energetic and overly happy; she was probably a cheerleader or something in high school. Her gaze drifted over to me, and suddenly, her eyes grew as big as saucers. Now, there are not many people who posses the vocal ability to trump Ino and Sakura's fangirl squeals. As it turned out, Deidara was one of the people who _could._

"OH MY GOD!" she shrieked, jumping up and down and letting go of Itachi's arm to clap her hands to her face. "You're the cutest thing _ever!"_ She was instantly right on top of me, squeezing me so that I couldn't breath. However, this resulted in my face being about five centimeters above her jugs. Well, breathing wasn't everything. She'd probably let go once she realized I was unconscious, no need to rush things.

Sasuke seemed to have a different plan in mind. "Deidara!" he shouted in a commanding tone. "Let go of Naruto before you suffocate him! You've gotten enough boob jobs that those things could probably be used as murder weapons, what with all the plastic stuffed inside." She dropped me back into my seat and let out a huff, placing her hands on her hips and glaring disbelievingly at Sasuke.

"Itachi!" she called over her shoulder. "I thought you told Sasuke to be nice to me this time! He's always so mean!"

"Here, I made some eggs," Itachi said passively, changing the subject. I had to admit, it was a good move. It stopped the fighting, assured Deidara that Sasuke would shut up and eat, and gave Sasuke something to do other than PMS all over the place over the fact that his brother was actually _happy_. Well played, Itachi. I took the plate of scrambled eggs greedily, digging in with the fork Itachi passed me. Sasuke just looked at the plate in front of him in distaste before getting up and pulling the door to the fridge open. A moment later, he returned with a bottle of ketchup, which he proceeded to squirt all over his eggs.

"You've gotta be kidding me," I stated flatly, still irritated that he wouldn't acknowledge what happened between us, but choosing to deal with it some other time.

"What?" he asked innocently. I rolled my eyes.

"Have you got some kind of tomato fetish?"

He punched me lightly in the arm. "Shut up and eat your breakfast, loser."

Deidara took a tiny bite of Itachi's eggs before coming to sit by me. "Just _look_ at you!" she cried, taking my face in her hands. "Those gorgeous eyes! Oh, and you look so surprised!" Well, I think I would be, considering she just rubbed our noses together. I guess Itachi wasn't the jealous type, then? Well, that was lucky. "Cute cute cute!" she deemed me, patting my head before standing up and returning to her boyfriend. She plopped down in Itachi's lap with an 'oof' and giggled, leaning her head against his shoulder and feeding him eggs. They looked really happy together.

With a sigh, I looked away and to my own eggs. I'd never really had a relationship like that. Hinata and I had tried it way back in middle school, but nothing had come from it. She was too quiet to really be my type. I also had a crush on Sakura in freshman year, but I got over that not much later. I didn't know what that kind of relationship would feel like, and, although I hated to admit it, I was a little jealous.

Man. I couldn't help but think that my life was just a wreck right now, huh?

* * *

**Sasuke Point of View**

That bitch, Deidara. She gladly rubbed all up against Naruto, calling him 'cute' and mashing her gargantuan boobs in his face, then ran back to Itachi to cuddle and kiss up. Why the hell did that piss me off so much? Oh well, who cared? I shoveled another bite of ketchup-drowned eggs into my mouth angrily, grinding my teeth together audibly as I chewed. Fucking whore of a girl.

When I absolutely couldn't stand all the googly-eyes and egg-flavored kisses Itachi and Deidara were creating, oblivious to my horror, I grabbed Naruto and dragged him up to my room. I'd been doing that a lot recently, huh? There was a problem, though; when he resisted me this time, it was real. "Come on, loser," I encouraged, looking back at him. I was surprised to find him glaring at me. Was he still mad about what I said—er, didn't say earlier?

I mean, what was there _to_ say, anyway? Considering that nothing… nothing had happened. At all. Nope. Because, _if_ something _had_ happened, that would mean I was having problems with suppressing my… urges… toward guys. Particularly, guys with perfectly messy blond hair and sparkling blue eyes and a gorgeous smile. Because I didn't want that.

Yeah, nothing happened.

* * *

**Naruto Point of View**

After having lunch with Sasuke, Itachi, and Deidara, I decided I didn't want to look at Sasuke anymore. We could talk about what happened. We could decide it was a mistake. We could decide it _wasn't_; I didn't care! But… for him to say that it never happened? That _teme._

After arriving at my apartment, I pulled my phone out and plugged it into the wall charger, considering it was almost dead. It was then that I realized I'd somehow managed to miss three calls and four texts just since getting to Sasuke's house yesterday afternoon. Wow, was it really only yesterday? So much happened, it seemed much longer ago.

All three calls were from Sai. So were the texts. They said:

'Naru call me'

'Naru call asap'

'call me wen u get this'

'naruto pick up ur damn phone'

What? Sai… never cussed... like, ever. And he was never this urgent. What could be going on with him? Oh, God… what if something happened? Could somebody in his family be hurt? Sick? Did _he_ get in trouble? I immediately started dialing his number.

He picked up seconds after the first ring. "Hello? Naruto?" He sounded jittery and nervous. Cautiously, I replied.

"Er, yeah… Sai, what's wrong? What's going on with you?"

There was a short pause. Then, "I… I just… look, I really need to talk to you. It's pretty important… are you at home?" I blinked in surprise. Sai wanted to come over? And what was this big important thing he needed to tell me about?

"Uhh… yeah."

"Well, can I come over? I'd tell you over the phone, but… I need to see your face."

The first thing that came to mind was 'big deal'. Somehow, this would affect me directly. Well, whatever; if it wasn't Sasuke, I was ready to hear pretty much anything right now. "Sure, yeah. I'll be here, so… see you in a few?" He swallowed loudly, and I hear the pop of his mouth opening, but silence still followed. Finally, he just gave a small noise of consent before hanging up. I reclined against my couch, waiting for him to show.

It couldn't have been more than seven minutes after hanging up on him that Sai was ringing my doorbell. Speedy driving, huh? Remind me never to let him behind the wheel while I'm in the car. Then again… this could just have to do with whatever it was that was troubling him. "Hey, dude," I said, smiling, as I opened the door and beckoned him inside. He followed, tentatively rubbing his arm. Wasn't that one of those things you do when you're nervous…?

I returned to my spot on the worn blue couch, and he took a seat beside me. Was it just me, or was he a little _too_ close? Oh well. We stared at each other for a minute, and I noticed a light hue of pink was coloring his cheeks and the tips of his ears. Accompanied by his inability to meet my gaze directly and the way his right hand was still protectively clutched around his left forearm, his actions made him seem… girly. It was the shy, awkward Sai I'd known long ago.

"So," I said slowly, starting up a conversation. "What's up? How was your Friday?"

"Good, good," he responded, nodding his head as he spoke. Finally, he returned the favor by asking, "What about you?"

"Uhh," I replied, trying to find the right words to describe yesterday. "It was eventful. Went over to Sasuke's, ended up sleeping over." His eyes darkened as I said Sasuke's name, and his facial expression got harder. Something about that was ticking him off.

"Look, Naruto," his said, voice suddenly firm. "I'll just get right to the point. I already talked to Sasuke about it, but… I feel like I'm losing you! He's stealing you away from me, Naruto, and my place at your side has been given away to somebody else! I've been bumped out of your life by Uchiha Sasuke, and I'm scared that I'm not going to be able to get you back!"

I raised my eyesbrows in surprise, eyes going wide. So Sasuke wasn't exaggerating at all; I could totally see this side of Sai being compelled to threaten Sasuke. I tried to speak, but he placed a finger over my lips, effectively silencing me. "Hush. I need to say this." I nodded, understanding that this was really important to him.

"I understand that Sasuke seems to be a good friend to you, but I _know_ guys like him, and they hurt people and step on them. I think he's just a social climber trying to build his rep by saying, 'I'm friends with the athlete' and 'I helped this guy out by tutoring him! Look at what a good guy I am!' and you know what? You're totally letting him do it! He gets closer to you every day, and at this rate…." He paused, a pained look on his face. "At this rate, I don't even feel like I'll have a chance," he finished with a whisper.

An overload of thoughts hit me as he finished, so my mouth spouted the most simple, basic, and prominent of them all. "A chance with what?"

"With _you!_"

What. The. Hell. Before my brain had time to process his, he had his hands clasped around my wrists and was leaning me back, attempting to straddle my hips. I couldn't push him off; my mind was too shocked to send those kinds of messages. It was only when he was on top of me, staring intimately into my eyes, that I finally regained some function. I grabbed at his shirt, clenching my fist around it tightly. I don't know why; I was angry and sad and confused. Why was this happening? First the problems with Sasuke, and now Sai was… now he was… oh, God….

"S-sai," I murmured breathlessly, blushing despite myself. I'd never had a guy across me before. I'd never had _anyone_ look at me with eyes like that before. It was so intense… I was frozen.

"Naruto," he whispered, leaning down closer to my face. His breath mingled with mine as he said, "I like you. A lot. And I need to know what you think."

I didn't know what to say, considering my brain was kind of short-circuiting. What _could_ I say; this seemed to have come out of nowhere! Sai… liked me? I might have been able to think a little better had he not been so close…

I could feel the slight blush getting a little darker. Oh, why? I hadn't even considered anything about Sai's sexuality before now; where was all this suddenly coming from? Was it just a 'heat of the moment' type thing? Oh, God, oh, God… what was happening to me? I didn't have much time to think, however, because I suddenly had a warm, soft hand slipping behind my neck and pulling me upward. I didn't have time too react before a soft pair of lips was crushed longingly against mine, a tongue tentatively poking at my own lips and requesting entry. My shock-stricken mind couldn't think to respond, so instinct took over, and I complied, parting my lips to allow his tongue to enter. I felt his smile against my lips as he explored slowly with his tongue, savoring the taste.

I was a limp rag doll in his arms, unable to move despite my awareness that this was _not_ something I wanted. Something about the situation had simply… frozen me. Aside from the mouth, of course, which was currently being ravaged by Sai's tongue. I had no idea what to do about this, but more shit had happened in the last twenty-four hours than I'd had to deal with in a _long_ time, so excuse me for being a little frazzled!

Unfortunately, the universe just didn't seem to want to stop toying with me. The door to my apartment was suddenly pushed open with a creak, and Sasuke stood there, unmoving, my school bag in his hand. Horror was etched all over his face as he stared with wide eyes, blinking disbelievingly. Sai and I broke apart quickly, and I stared back at the raven, stunned to see him here, but even more stunned when I realized what had just happened. What the _hell_ had I been thinking?

"You… left your bag at my place," Sasuke mumbled, eyes still big as saucers. He dropped the bag right there on the floor, simply releasing it from his grasp. It thumped as it hit the floor, and he slowly shut the door behind him. Uneven footstep could be heard as he made his way back down the hall, probably just staring blankly ahead like I was. Suddenly, I realized that I needed to actually _do_ something about this. I inhaled deeply and pushed against Sai's chest.

"Get off me," I mumbled before getting up, moving quickly toward my door and throwing it open. As soon as I was in the hall, my speed increased, and I was flying toward the stairs that led down to the parking lot. One thought continually raced through my mind: _Oh God, let me catch him let me catch him let me catch him._

I finally saw him running down the stairs of the apartment complex, and I went after him without hesitation, taking two steps at a time so that I was sure to catch up. I knew he heard me coming, but he didn't turn around, and it hurt. I'd hurt him first, though, so it was only fair… and I had a lot of explaining to do. "Sasuke!" I called out, a few feet behind him. He was silent for a moment more, walking quickly toward his car. Finally he spoke.

"What?"

"Look at me!" I grabbed his wrist and yanked him backwards so that he was facing me. His face was stricken with grief, and I knew he was trying to press back tears from the way he kept blinking. I dropped his arm, knowing that he wouldn't – or rather, _couldn't_ – move while I was gazing at him this way, and instead firmly grasped each of his shoulders. "What happened with Sai," I murmured, voice shaking, "was nothing. There is nothing going on between us, and that kiss you saw there didn't mean anything. It just sort of… happened."

"That's a lie!" he shouted, wrenching himself out of my grip and taking a step away from me. "That's a lie and you know it! Kisses don't just 'happen'! And if it was a mistake, why didn't you just push him off?" I bit my lip and glared at him, knowing he was right. I had no answer to give him, and he continued to scowl at me with his cold, cold eyes.

"I thought I was you _friend!_" he cried in anger, a sudden gust of wind whipping his long strands of hair around his face as he gritted his teeth. "You could have at least told me! Especially after what happened last night!" He was breathing hard now, his hands balled into trembling fists that were held tensely at his side. I returned his scowl with a fiercer one.

"What?" I asked incredulously, angered at myself and at the _teme_ standing before me. "You're planning on acknowledging it now? Finally going to admit that _something happened_ between us last night? Or are you just going to keep running away from it like a little kid?"

"Fine!" he yelled, raising a hand to latch onto his hair in frustration. He looked down. "Fine, something happened! We _kissed,_ you loser! But _obviously_ it didn't mean the same thing to you that it meant to me, because I just walked in on you making out with Sai!" I couldn't find any words to counter him, and he just continued to stare at his shoes, shaking his head in disbelief with a pained expression on his face. "Why didn't I see this coming?" he muttered, dragging his palm down his face. "The defensiveness, the 'close' friendship… I'm such an idiot!" He suddenly looked up, eyes flashing, and growled as he kicked at a stray rock on the warm concrete. Aside from its skittering, there was no more sound.

"What… did it mean to you?" I finally asked softly, digesting his words. He bit his lip and looked away, a bitter laugh rising from within him.

"A lot, okay?" he confessed, letting out another small chuckle. I found that it came out more as a choked sob. "A ton. But, I guess it wasn't that big a deal to you, huh?" Now it was _my_ turn to growl.

"You think it didn't _matter_ to me?" I asked, throwing the words back in his face. He blinked at me but remained quiet, his face settling for something close to impassive. "You stupid, _idiotic _emo! It meant a million times more than whatever just happened with Sai, and I'm still trying to figure that out! But if you want proof of who has me, here!" And without thinking, I grabbed his face tightly, wrenching it forward so that I could crush my lips against his.

I could feel the shock running through him as his body tensed up, but he quickly took control of the kiss, accepting it and swiftly dominating me. It was only seconds before we added tongue to the mix, and he backed me up toward his car, only a few feet away. As he pressed me against the metal structure, he wrapped his arms around me, pulling my body closer to his. This was a thousand times more intense, more amazing, and more heated than the one we'd shared the night before, and I wanted more. I could never get enough of the amazing boy whose lips were currently locked with mine. Both of us were dead to the world until we heard the sudden sound of screeching tires.

Not expecting the noise, Sasuke broke away, and we both turned out heads to look in the direction of the sound. It was just an instant later that I realized that it was Sai's car pulling out of the parking lot. "Oh, damn…," I whispered, my fingers still laced in Sasuke's hair from our battle of tongues. "Sai…"

Sasuke's eyes widened, and he looked me up and down before quickly releasing me, taking a step away. "Sorry," he deadpanned, emotionless. "I… I have to…" With that, he simply moved toward the door of his car, hopping into the driver's seat. He slammed the door shut behind him, and I suddenly realized that the object I was leaning on would be moving pretty soon, so I jumped away quickly. He pulled out smoothly, and I watched with sad eyes as he drove away.

Remember when I said my life was a wreck earlier? I had no idea.

* * *

**Sasuke Point of View**

I slammed the front door behind me, not seeing anything but the path I followed straight to my room. I stormed past the kitchen without a word to Itachi, whom I was only vaguely aware of. I was sure he was curious, but at the time, I really didn't care. The door rattled in its frame as I shut it behind me as hard as I could. Without taking a single glance around, I walked directly over to my bed, plopping down and breathing heavily. I pressed the heels of my palms against my eyes, frustrated and overwhelmed as I tried to take in what happened. Finally, I couldn't stand it anymore.

"Shit!" I cursed as I stood and slammed a fist into the wall angrily, leaving a small dent in the plaster. As I cooled down, my shoulders sagged and I dropped my head, knuckles still against the wall. "Damn it."

"Sasuke?" Itachi's voice called softly, his head poking through my door. "Are you okay? Did something happen with Naruto?" Anger stirred in me once again – how dare he intrude? – and I turned around, seething.

"Get _out_, Itachi! This has _nothing_ to do with you!" He stared at my shaking form for a moment before nodding silently, withdrawing from my territory. Suddenly, my knees felt weak, and I crumpled to the floor, trembling. Oh, God.. what was happening to me?

* * *

**A/N: *le gasp* SAI YOU WHORE! How dare you come between the SasuNaruSasuness! Aww... but... but I want you to be happy anyway DX**

**OMG Sasuke was in denial... but no longer! Or is he? idk, he seemed pretty pissed after he realized just what was happening...**

**Sasuke and Naruto gettin it on in the parking lot! Kinky :3 Okay... maybe they weren't quite 'gettin it on' - that's for later XD But there were still some cute lil' kisses thrown in, huh?**

***sigh*... short chapter is short. Sorry about that. But it had a lot of development, so it's cool... maybe ^^"**

**Well... well, oh my. Would you look at this? I... I think that's a review button! You know, I heard somewhere that buttons were made to be pushed... maybe you should try it out? ^3^**


	7. Love the Way You Lie

**A/N: *le gasp* you guys did it! 11 reviews, exactly what I wanted - how did I get such amazing readers?**

**Anywho, about the chapter... I'm not particularly fond of the way I orchestrated the major scene in this (you'll know it when you get to it), but overall, I'm happy with it, so... ^^" mixed feelins?**

**Still no real Mature warnings - I'll be sure to put one up when we get to the lemony parts :D yumm...**

**Well, that's about it for now! Hope you enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter 7

**Naruto Point of View**

Looking back, I still can't quite remember how I managed to survive the rest of the weekend without going insane from all the stress I was under. Let's recount. Sai liked me and had, erm... kissed me. Sasuke kissed me – again. _I_ kissed _him_ – again. He drove off randomly. I'd managed to break Sai's heart, unintentionally. Damn, things were going _so _well. So, it was no surprise that when lunch rolled around on Monday, Sasuke and I were avoiding each other like the plague.

I guess it was pretty obvious that we weren't going to sit together, but I still sort of found myself searching for a dark-eyed _teme_ coming to sit by me. I was seated next to Sai, instead, and we were alone at a small table for two reasons. One, I felt like a real douche for leaving him alone at my apartment after he told me he liked me, only for me to go kiss somebody else. Two, as awkward as it was, I needed to ensure the, er, secrecy of the weekend's events. Sai, however, seemed like he didn't want to talk to me at all; in fact, he looked like he was torn between turning up his nose and bursting into hysterical tears. I couldn't blame him at all, since I wasn't able to imagine the ache that kind of betrayal would cause. Yeah, so, on top of all the crap going on in my life, I felt like a generally horrible person! Awesome.

"Sai," I finally said, looking at him with sad eyes. "I mean, there's nothing I can say that even begins to cover the kind of apology I owe you, so… let's just start out with me saying that I am _so, so_ _sorry. _I really am, man." He stared back at me for a moment, devoid of emotion. Slowly, a tiny sneer formed on his lips, but otherwise, there was no change in his facial expression.

"Sorry might be enough, Naruto," he began bitterly. "If you hadn't left me to go _grope Sasuke_ in the parking lot!" The biting edge to his words cut me a little, but I had no justification for my actions, so I took the pain unflinchingly. And, er, he was right… there had definitely been some ass-grabbing. I flushed slightly at the thought, but banished the butterflies beginning to flutter in my stomach and bit my lip, looking into his cold gaze and hoping to find a way to word my next request without hurting him even more than I already had.

"Sai, I, uh," I stuttered inarticulately. "I was wondering if you could… keep everything that happened this weekend a secret? Just until we all have time to figure this mess out." I hoped that he would agree. I _hoped. _ I hoped that things were still okay-enough between us for him to make that promise, but then again, he had no reason to. However, he gently nodded his head a moment later.

"You know I can't really stay mad at you," he murmured, the semblance of a smile gracing his features. It was a sad smile, but not empty, and that made me happy, as well. I grinned at him.

"Thanks, Sai."

* * *

**Sasuke Point of View**

Oh, God, I couldn't stand it anymore. How could one stupid blonde drive me so _crazy?_ I was driving _myself_ insane simply because I couldn't get him off of my mind! Urgh! I could barely keep myself alert, but I hadn't slept all weekend, either, because no matter how much I wanted to, thoughts of _him_ kept me awake! And, finally, if I _did_ fall asleep, _he_ was always there! Always _him!_

Stupid Naruto. Stupid me. Why did I have to go and kiss him?

Again?

…damn.

* * *

**Naruto Point of View**

I was driving home from school when Shikamaru called. With an exhausted sigh – it was just one of those days where you didn't feel like dealing with people, you know? – I flipped my phone open and breathed a "Hello?" into the device.

"Hey, Naruto," my lazy friend's voice replied, sounding oddly happy for him.

"Hey, sunshine. What's got you so perky?" I asked sarcastically. Seriously, I couldn't remember the last time Shika had actually sounded… energetic. Or alive. Alive was a good word for it.

"Well, you know how I asked Ino on a date, right?" he inquired.

"Uh-huh."

"It went _great!_" He proceeded to describe to me, in detail, his Saturday evening with the blond. It sounded really nice; they went to a movie, as Ino said, and totally did the cheesy 'holding-hands-in-the-popcorn' thing. Then, they actually took my advice and went to Ichiraku's for dinner. Sounded like the perfect date to me! Then again, I may have been drawn in by the temptation on ramen…

"So, Naruto," Shikamaru mumbled into his phone once he'd told me about the rest of his and Ino's text flirting over the rest of the weekend. "I noticed that you and Sasuke seemed really tense today. Did something happen between you two?" Oh, God. Was I really going to have to think up a believable excuse? I sucked at doing that!

"Uhh," I drawled, sounding like a total idiot as I tried to come up with something, to no avail, I might add. I suppose that the gods sent Kiba, because that boy had the most convenient timing, like, ever. There was a beeping sound alerting me to another caller. I grinned. "Oh, shoot!" I fake-gasped. "Look, Shika, I'm gonna have to call you back; Kiba just beeped in and he said he had something important to talk about earlier." That last part was true – Kiba _had _wanted to talk to me about something. He sighed exasperatedly at me.

"Fine. You better explain yourself later, though, Uzumaki," he told me firmly.

"Of course!" _Not._

We said our quick goodbyes, and I switched over to the other line, hanging up on Shikamaru. "Hey, Kiba!" I greeted my other friend, smiling against the phone.

"Hey," he replied, sounding a little nervous. Hrm, that was… weird. Kiba was the boldest guy I knew, and he was impossible to embarrass. Was it just me, or were things just starting to get weird all around?

"Something on your mind, dude?" I asked. He gulped, and the sound echoed over the line.

"Yeah… look, I uh…" he drifted off.

"Uh?" I wondered aloud. Kiba's vocabulary was small, I admit, but that was just uncommonly dull, even for Dogbreath. He must have something big on his mind.

"I was gonna ask… do you think I should ask Hinata out?"

Woah. That was new. "Since when have you had a crush on Hinata?" I shrieked, sounding like a gossip-crazed girl. He snorted.

"Since, like, forver man. I thought it was kinda obvious." Well, excuse me! Choosing to ignore the jab to my ego, I thought for a moment.

"Yeah, I think Hinata would like that," I finally answered. "What brought this on?"

"Well," Kiba began to explain, "I heard the Shikamaru and Ino had a really great date this weekend, and Shika's move inspired me. If that guy actually got off his lazy butt and pursued Ino, then what the hell have I been doing all this time, you know?"

"Yeah," I agreed, feeling an odd sense of jealousy. Why did everybody else's love life have to go so perfectly? Howcome everything always went smoothly with my friends while my life was so utterly fucked up? Ugh. It didn't seem fair to me at all!

I could envision the smile on Kiba's face as he responded with a, "'kay, I'm gonna call her later, I guess. Thanks, man!"

In a distracted voice, I replied, "Mmm-hmm, anytime. Seeya." We both hung up, having nothing more to talk about. Obviously, I didn't call Shikamaru back. I'd just lie and say my phone died and I couldn't find my charger or something like that. Shika was too smart to fall for it, but too lazy to care, so whatever bullshit I fed him would probably be fine.

As I lay on my bed that evening, staring up at my ceiling, I could only come to one conclusion: I had to fix things with Sasuke.

The next day at school was just as torturous as the last. I couldn't stay fixed on one decision! First, on the drive there, I was positive that I'd talk to Sasuke as soon as I could, but, lo and behold, I gulped and walked right by him without a glance in his direction like a coward. Later, my courage came back, and I resolved to talk to him, then realized that it was the middle of class. Right. By the end of class, I had lost my nerve. Can you see a pattern starting to form here? Yeah.

My frustration with myself was reaching its peak as I clambered into my car to drive home. Why couldn't I just force myself to talk to him? I mean, really, what was wrong with me? I sighed and lowered my head for a moment before turning the keys in the ignition, my forehead hitting the arch of the steering wheel with a heavy plunk. I pulled out of the parking lot after finally lifting my head, a million thoughts running through my mind.

Suddenly, inspiration hit me like a ton of bricks. Ouch. That would hurt; who thought up that saying anyway? Regardless, I was struck by an idea. If I kept losing my nerve, then the obvious solution was to ensure that I couldn't get out the situation! Genius, was it not? I thought so. Immediately, I reached for my cell phone, pulling it out of my pocket and thanking God that it was Tuesday, and that Sasuke wouldn't be at his house until later due to his photo class thingy.

When Itachi picked up the Uchihas' home phone, he sounded tired. "Hello?" he drawled, followed by a yawn more characteristic of Shikamaru.

"Hey, Itachi! It's me, Naruto."

He instantly perked up and answered me in a much more cheerful voice. "Oh, Naruto! Hi. I'm sorry if I sound tired; I fell asleep at my desk and the phone woke me up." I smiled at that; I could totally picture that in my mind. Poor guy worked himself to the bone for school, huh? He really wasn't a bad guy, despite whatever it was that Sasuke said. "Did you need something?" he asked.

"Oh! Yeah," I answered, reminded of my reasons for calling. "Sasuke's not going to be home until around five-ish, right?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Well, I was wondering if I could possibly come over and, uh, be there when he gets home," I murmured. This plan had sounded a lot better in my mind. And less stalker-y. Definitely less stalker-y. "And stuff," I tacked on awkwardly, attempting to save myself.

"Ah, sure… I was actually expecting something like this," he confessed.

"Huh?"

"I'm a bit more perceptive than you and Sasuke seem to thing, Naruto," the guy informed me. "I don't know what, but I know _something_ big is going on between you two. Normally, I'd chalk it up to Sasuke being a teenager, but this is different than anything I've seen him dealing with before." Damn, this guy was good. I just hoped he didn't ask too many questions. "Anyway, come on over. I'll let you hang in the kitchen with me, though I'll probably not be much fun to talk to, or you can spend some time in Sasuke's room; I'm sure he wouldn't mind."

"Thanks, Itachi!" I cried over the phone. Despite my mild irritation over the fact that _another_ person could tell there was something upsetting Sasuke and myself – Shikamaru, Itachi… who next? – I was glad that he was such a nice guy.

"Sure," he replied.

"Uhh," I mumbled awkwardly.

"Yeah," he returned, sounding no more at ease.

"Well, bye…" I bid him.

"Yep."

I hung up and drove on to the Uchiha residence.

* * *

**Sasuke Point of View**

I dragged my feet as I left the art building, walking to my car under the walkway to avoid the rain as long as possible. It seemed to create a fitting atmosphere; drab and gloomy. That was how I felt at the moment, and with good reason; I still hadn't had one of my sideways glances returned by Naruto, either yesterday or today. At first, I thought that maybe he just refused to look at me, but now, I was starting to suspect that he planned to ignore my existence entirely. Well, how was that for—

No. No, I should be ignoring him, too. Whatever it was he was doing to me, it wasn't good for me. It couldn't be. No, this was a good thing, it was… I didn't know.

Suddenly, out of the corner of my eye, I caught a shape following me. As I turned to look closer, I realized that it was… oh, God. Sai. My blood boiled at the sight of him; he had the nerve to… to go in and… and kiss a boy that I… had no claim on… oh well! And then he… approached me, and… whatever! I had never wanted to punch anybody as much as I'd wanted to hit him right then, for whatever reason.

"What do you want?" I asked coldly as he drew closer to me. He frowned at me sadly.

"You're doing it all wrong, you know," he told me softly, sounding torn, like he didn't know whether he should have talked to me at all. I raised an eyebrow.

"That's not an answer," I informed him, still just as icy. I really didn't want to be talking to this guy, of all people. Honestly, I'd rather have a conversation with Itachi.

He nodded. "I know. I just wanted to give you some advice." Okay, now I was very confused. What did this guy want to give me advice for? Probably trying to sabotage me or something.

"What am I… doing wrong?" I asked apprehensively.

He bit his lip and looked away, obviously deliberating whether it would be a good or a bad idea to impart whatever he wanted to say to me. Finally, he mumbled, "Whatever you, uh… have going on with… Naruto."

"…huh?" I was now _extremely_ confused. "I thought… I _you_ liked him?"

"I do," he confessed with a sigh. "A ton. But that means I want him to be happy, no matter what it costs me, so… you need to go back to hanging with him, or at least talk to him and stop being an asstard." Uh, okay. That came out of nowhere. As I looked Sai up and down, I realized something; he wasn't the bad guy. He was just another person drawn in by Naruto's appeal, and if he was willing to give up so much to see Naruto happy… well, that meant a lot.

"Oh, I, uh," I stammered, unsure of how to respond. "Thank you doesn't begin to cover it," I stated, still in awe over this sudden sacrifice. "I can't imagine… how hard…" He suddenly clapped a hand over my mouth.

"Don't say it," he whispered. "It _was_ hard; I don't need to be reminded." I nodded in understanding. Without another word exchanged between us, we parted ways, and I jogged through the rain to my car with a lot on my mind. What should I do with this new encouragement? I mean… I didn't want… I wasn't…

But I was. And I did want. Want him, that is. And I told myself I didn't because… I couldn't.

And I just didn't know what to do with myself.

Well, apparently, I'd be forced to make my choice pretty soon, because the last person I expected was sitting on my bed when I walked into my room a few minutes later…

* * *

**Naruto Point of View**

My throat was suddenly very dry as I watched him enter the room. Whatever I'd wanted to say moments ago left me in an instant as I met his shocked expression. All I could push out of my throat was "Sa…suke…"

He narrowed his eyes when my voice broke the silence. "What do you want, Naruto?" he asked, not quite angry, but obviously not all that happy to see me. His challenging tone quickly returned my speech to me.

"Sasuke, we need to talk," I told him firmly, hoping to take charge.

"Did Itachi let you in?" he asked, ignoring my demand.

"Yeah."

We stared at each other for an endless moment. Then another. Finally, he cleared his throat. "Get on with it, then," he encouraged, motioning for me to continue. I straightened my posture on his bed.

"You have to come sit first," I explained, not a bit abashed as I patted the spot on the bed next to me. He raised an eyebrow and looked at me oddly, but came to sit after a moment, nonetheless. I turned to face him, my expression dead serious.

"Look, no matter how much you want to deny it," I said slowly and clearly. "There _is_ something between us. Okay? Can you admit that?"

His gaze hardened. "I won't admit to something like that, _dobe,_" he replied. "I don't know where you got that idea after… just… a mistake." He steadily lost confidence as he continued speaking; it was pretty obvious. "Or two…"

I breathed deeply. _Don't get angry or upset so quickly,_ I told myself. _You'll never get anywhere like that._ "_If_ there's nothing between us, like you say," I uttered. "Then it wouldn't be so awkward. We'd be able to put it behind us, right?"

He frowned. "Maybe you're just afraid to face that I don't feel the same," he sniffed, turning his nose up and refusing to meet my eyes. "Maybe it's only awkward for you."

Okay, that pissed me off. "What the hell are you saying? Stupid!" I couldn't help myself; with a flat palm, I smacked him across the face. Had the moment not been so tense, it would have been pretty comical; his face remained at a ninety-degree angle from me for a moment before he turned towards me, painstakingly slowly, a look of total disbelief in his eyes. He slowly reached both hands up to cradle his stinging cheek, where a rather impressive red mark was blooming.

"Did you just…!" he finally choked out. "Did you just… hit me?" Sasuke inquired between heavy, appalled breaths. I nodded firmly, crossing my arms over my chest as if to make some sort of point. He blinked in complete shock. "You… idiot!" he gasped, looking down and breathing slightly out of rhythm, as if the fact that he'd been physically hurt by me was taking a moment to register in his mind.

"It'll happen again, too," I informed him. "Just, please," I begged. "Please tell me I'm not imagining it. Please tell me I'm right." I knew I sounded desperate. Maybe I was, I don't know. Whatever, I just knew that my entire being was telling me to go with this, telling me that Sasuke was important, the he was special. I wasn't about to pass the chance to be with somebody like that up, even if I had to force the words out of him, damn it!

"No… I won't," he whispered in defiance. "There's nothing to…"

I knew what words would have left his mouth had he not trailed off. "How can you even _say_ that?" I pleaded, hating the fact that I could feel tears prickling at my eyes. Not now. I needed to be strong, not show my weakness, my doubt, my fear… I couldn't show him how much I needed to hear him say it, because that could only make things worse. "Sasuke…"

Instead of having the courage to meet my imploring gaze, he only drew his lips into a white line and looked away, obviously upset by something. He was nothing but a big coward. He was scared to be who he was, and this was hard for him. The serious tug to my heartstrings almost demanded that I give up and let him deny it, let him lie to himself for that much longer if it made him happy, but somewhere, I knew that it would only hurt him in the long run.

"Sasuke," I repeated, reaching a gentle hand out to place on his shoulder. He flinched away from the contact slightly, but he didn't completely pull away. Instead, he hunched his knees up to his chest and squeezed his eyes shut, flat out denying me the chance to see the emotions that one might see in his obsidian irises. "Look at me right now, Uchiha," I commanded, tone firm. He slowly creaked one eye open again, then the other, and I was immediately met with the full force of his glare. I was, however, used to the expression by now; the effect was still there, but it was a much duller, less severe blade cutting into my confidence than it had once been.

"Look, you like guys," I told him softly, watching him struggle as I imparted this knowledge onto him. "You're g—!" I suddenly found myself silenced with two hands over my mouth. His voice was icy and vicious as he spoke to me.

"You _don't ever_," he declared, baring his teeth. "Say that word." I looked at him, my heartbeat quickening in shock and mild fear as he glared daggers at me. I'd never seen him so… so completely _angry_. The emotion was raw and unrestrained, and you could practically see the steam rising from his heaving form. "I am _not!_" he cried, his face contorting in fury. When finally his hand were removed from my mouth, I was trembling, terrified. This was yet another side of Sasuke I had not seen before. How many grave, scary emotions did he keep bottled up inside, holding them together all by himself? He must have it… so hard.

Despite my resolution to be strong, I felt a tear begin to roll down my cheek, quickly followed by another, and another. My body still shook with fear and frustration and countless other emotions I couldn't begin to comprehend at the time. Why was it so difficult? Did whoever was up there controlling all this _shit_ just enjoy watching me suffer?

We stared at each other for what felt like a long while, Sasuke and I. It seemed like decades; it was only seconds. All of my emotions about this issue- all of _my_ anger and fury – suddenly came bursting forth, and I broke the silence with a screaming demand, slow tears still running down my face. "What are you so afraid of?" I asked him, shoulders lurching forward in an uncontrolled sob. "What the hell are you doing to yourself?"

He blinked, surprised by my sudden outburst, and looked like he was about to speak; his mouth popped open, and the sound resonated in the silence that had resumed. No words came from him; he was at a loss. Well, good, because I sure as hell wasn't done!

"Who in the world are you trying to please?" I begged of him, the volume of my voice swollen with my frustration. "What's got you denying yourself so fucking much? Don't you care that you'll never be happy? Don't you care about… about yourself at all? Or _me_, God forbid!" He stared, starting to tremble under the weight of my words. Finally, something I said was getting through. "Don't forget, you're putting me through hell, too!"

The conflict going on within him was written all over his face. "Until you can just accept yourself, Sasuke, you're never—!" Well, I shut up pretty quickly right about then, because I realized something; there was a set of pale, soft lips pressed against my own in a gentle kiss. I opened my eyes wide in surprise before I reciprocated, the tears I'd been hopelessly trying to repress now allowed to pour out at full force. Who cared now? Who frigging cared? I didn't. I didn't care about anything other than the fact that Sasuke was now kissing me, that he had maybe learned to accept some of himself, even if only a little.

What started as a gentle kiss soon became something more. Neither of us gave consent; it sort of just happened somewhere along the line. I opened my mouth, he poked in with his tongue tentatively, I leaned back against the bed, he climbed on top of me. I doubt he expected it to go so far as it already had; well, sucks for him, 'cause it did.

It was probably minutes that passed. We broke away once or twice to breath only to capture each others lips seconds later. For once, time flew away between us. This moment was not long, or short, or even perceivable. It was just… there. And we lived it.

Some time later – who knows how long really – we about jumped out of our skins when the door clicked open. We broke apart, but there was no way to hide our actions quickly enough, so we simply remained frozen inches from each others face. Itachi poked his head in. "It's awfully quiet, are you two… all…"

Shock etched itself into his features, and I didn't blame him. As I took stock of the situation, I was kind of surprised he didn't just run. After all, we were both flushed, our lips were mere inches away, my jacket had been discarded along with his, my shirt was half off, Sasuke's pants were undone – when the hell had I done that? Hmm – and we looked generally infatuated with each other, despite our stunned expressions.

Excellent. Not at all embarrassing. Nope.

To my surprise – and Sasuke's, I'm sure – Itachi only grinned after taking a moment to take it all in. "So," he started. "This is what I walked in on Friday?" Sasuke and I exchanged glances.

"Not really," I mumbled, having regained my vocal abilities first. "This is more, well… more." Sasuke glared at me, cheeks flaming, and I shrugged beneath him. "What was I supposed to say?" He stared at me for a moment before nodding, obviously at a loss. Then it hit me. "Wait, you're not… like… mad?"

He grinned at us knowingly and opened his mouth like he was about to answer, but Sasuke cut him off, instead. "Itachi, can you go now, please?" he requested. He wasn't speaking emotionlessly this time, which was good. Still, I knew he didn't want to be near Itachi, so I nodded at the man, implying that getting my answer some other time could satisfy me. He slipped out, and Sasuke and I finally moved away from each other. I was fumbling with my shirt, trying desperately to straighten it out, when Sasuke spoke.

"Can you go, too, Naruto?"

I looked at him curiously, and a bit concerned. Surely he wasn't just going to escape and then ignore that something happened – again. One look at him, however, and I knew it would be just plain cruel to stay. He looked emotionally stressed to the extreme, and he was looking a little pale, probably from the shock of being found out by Itachi. I nodded. "Sure, but come sit with me at lunch tomorrow, okay?"

"Yeah," he replied, voice soft. His eyes were trained on the ceiling. Without another word, I slipped out the door, bid farewell to Itachi quickly, and hopped into my car. I replayed the events of this afternoon in my mind as I drove home. Sasuke and I… had made some progress. I thought – hoped – that was right, at least. I hadn't made things worse, anyway, so that was a good thing. And, on top of that, my lips were still tingling from that last kiss. The smell of tomatoes had a funny way of lingering…

I smiled to myself. This had been good.

* * *

**Sasuke Point of View**

Much later, I wandered into the kitchen in search of a snack. I hadn't come down to dinner for obvious reasons – how could I face Itachi now? Best not to eat with him – and my stomach was growling too loudly for me to concentrate on anything, so I'd finally given in and ventured downstairs. I guess it was ignorant of me to assume that Itachi would be either in his room or his study. I hadn't even thought to peek around the kitchen and check for his presence before entering, so it scared the living daylights out of me when he suddenly spoke up from across the room.

"So, is this a secret?"

I turned slowly, sure I would die of embarrassment. When I finally found my voice, I replied. "Well, I don't even know what 'this' is, really, so…" I left a shrug to finish my incomplete sentence for me. He nodded in understanding. We looked at each other for a moment or two, and I was about to grab an apple and flee back to my room when he suddenly asked the fateful question.

"So, how long have you… y'know… liked guys?" he inquired. Damn him.

I shrugged once again. "Just, uh… forever, I guess, but I don't… wanna… Damn it!" I couldn't look at him. Where would that get me, anyway? I'd just see him looking… disgusted. Without a doubt.

There was a long stretch of silence. Then, finally, he spoke. "Come and sit," he called, sounding careful and gentle with his words. Hm, that wasn't what I'd expected to hear from him. Intrigued by his tone and defeated by my own exhaustion, I trudged over and joined him at the table. He pushed a mug in front of me, and I looked up curiously. "Want a sip of my hot chocolate?" he asked sincerely. I couldn't repress the smirk that tugged at the corners of my lips; Itachi never had gotten over his childish love for hot chocolate. I nodded weakly – what else was I supposed to do? Now wasn't exactly the time for stubborn animosity – and took a gulp. The warmth seeped through my body and kicked some of the residual numbness of shock out. After all, kissing a guy for the _third time_, having him yell at you and lay all your darkest secrets and fears out before you, on top of being discovered by your bastard brother… that would leave a person numb for sure.

"Sasuke," he murmured, elbows on the table and fingers intertwined. "Why didn't you tell me?"

I stared for a moment. "I… didn't want to. You got a problem with that?" God, just as we were starting to get along for five seconds, this guy had to go and piss me off again.

"No, I don't have a problem with it," he assured me, waving his hands in defense. "I just was curious. Does anybody else know?"

"No," I answered flatly. "Well, aside from… him, you know. I just wanted to keep it to myself."

"You didn't want anybody to know?" He frowned, obviously a little puzzled. "Why couldn't you tell _anyone?"_

"Because I don't want to be this way!" I cried in exasperation. "Who in their right minds _would?"_ I glared at him for a moment.

"Why would you do that to yourself?" I opened my eyes wider, raising my eyebrows. That was… almost exactly like what Naruto had said earlier. "What's the point of denying yourself? Didn't you know, deep down, that it wouldn't go away?" he asked, voice soft and concerned.

I was at a loss for words. What would be a good response to that? As far as I could tell, there wasn't one. Why _had_ I… for so long… other than just outright refusal to accept it? I thought for a long moment. Finally, I whispered, "I was… ashamed. And scared and upset. It wasn't supposed to be like this, Itachi." I looked down at the table, clenching my fists. This was the first time I'd had to confess anything like this… to _anybody!_ Why had I chosen _Itachi_ of all people? I… I _hated_ him!

…right?

"I don't even know why I'm talking to you," I spat, despite the fact that I knew it would hurt him once again. Did I ever give him a break? Suddenly, a hand slid its way onto my shoulder.

"I know you don't," he told me, a hint of melancholy in his words. "But I'm glad you are." I looked up, surprised. That was all he was going to say on the matter? Suddenly, I felt myself dragged into a hug, the kind that I hadn't felt since I was ten years old. My brother was embracing me, and I was allowing it. Why? I don't know. I was even more confused when I actually leaned into the warmth and sighed, not out of exasperation, but out of comfort. I needed something to latch on to, and there he was. Just like he'd always been.

Maybe this would come back to haunt me later, this time I allowed him to get close to me, but at the moment, I could have cared less. Itachi was there like my parents never had been – like nobody else ever had been – and for just a short while, I could let myself forget that I hated him and pretend that this was okay with me.

* * *

**A/N: Hn... yeah. Haha xD perhaps that got a little too Uchiha loverly in that last bit xDDD but I just love Uchihacest, so I couldn't resist a little shoutout to their relationship! Shoot me xD**

**It works, too, because it leads into themes regarding Sasuke and Itachi's developing relationship as siblings later on :D Huzzah!**

**Mwahahaha, you guys... I must really love you, because I'm pretty sure that's like the 3rd chapter in a row with major development and smoochies xD**

**Nyawwwww! Sai's being a sweetheart - I love you, my little artistic dear!**

******Reviews are love. They shall be used to make lemon-aid (wow that was a phenomenally lame play on words. I mean they help me write you guys lemons xD).**

******P.S. go listen to the epic cover of 'Toxic' (originally a Britney Spears song) by A Static Lullaby when you get the chance; that song is, like, sex for the ears. No, seriously, it is.**


	8. Have Your Answer Yet?

**A/N: Well... here goes...**

**Warning: This chapter contains graphic sexual content. You no like teh smut? You skip teh smut :) you'll probably be able to figure out what happened, anyway**

**Yep, finally, the reason this is rated M!**

***sigh* just hope the LU doesn't get meh... oh, well!**

**Oh, look, haven't done one of these in a while! ^^"**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, Masashi Kishimoto does!**

* * *

Chapter 8

**Sai Point of View**

When I walked into the cafeteria the next day, I noticed something right off the bat that upset me, a lot. Sasuke and Naruto were sitting next to each other once again. Why had I encouraged that? Now all I was getting out of it was another lonely lunch period – I wasn't going to sit anywhere near Sasuke, that was for sure – and another stab to the heart. What was I _thinking _the day before? Art class had gotten out, I saw him, it was a spur of the moment thing… I should have thought about it more… I should have given it more time!

Had something happened between them later that afternoon? Or was it simply that Sasuke had sat down and been welcomed back without a word? Shit, if that was the case, then Naruto and I really _were_ totally hopeless, huh? But no, no… that wouldn't happen. Something must have passed between them the night before. If so… then what? Had it been friendly, or…? I couldn't even think the words in my mind. Even the idea made my stomach turn. Why? Why had I wanted this for them?

No, not for them. For _him._ I wanted Naruto to be happy. And, as I looked over at the two and saw Naruto smiling like an idiot while Sasuke pouted, albeit with a secret smile tugging at the corner of his mouth, I remembered _exactly_ why I'd wanted them to make up. That idiot grin on Naruto's face… it was almost enough to make up for the jealousy I felt over their relationship.

Almost enough.

* * *

**Naruto Point of View**

All in all, the next day at school went by without any kind of big developments. Wednesday night, Ino and Shikamaru went on another date, this time a little fancier – I think Shika said he was taking her to some showy restaurant downtown? I don't know. Anyway, when Thursday rolled around, they both bounced into the cafeteria, hand in hand. "We have news!" Ino shouted, using the ear-splitting shriek she usually reserved for her Sasuke fangirling. Shikamaru nodded beside her, grinning.

"Sorry we didn't tell any of you in morning classes," he apologized, "but we wanted to break the news together." The smile on his face only got wider as he spoke. Interested, we all leaned in closer, nearly brimming over with anticipation. That is, all but Sasuke, who merely turned in their direction and nodded. Stupid bastard.

"Well," Ino giggled, blushing fervently. "Shikamaru and I are now _officially_ a couple!" We all smiled. Sasuke even pulled a little smirk of approval. Of course, we all knew it was headed that way eventually – they were just too perfect for each other. Still, it was nice to see them both so happy.

Later, Kiba texted me. "Askd Hina out, she agreed. So. Friggin. Happeh!" So Kiba and Hinata were together, too? Great. Said half-sarcastically with jealousy. Nonetheless, I texted him "lol nice man," and added a little smiley face. Well, okay, maybe I lied about the 'no big developments' thing. So shoot me. I was more preoccupied with what happened Thursday night. I had a, uh, 'good sleep'. And when I say that, I don't mean restful. That's right, I had a, uh, yeah… a wet dream.

About Sasuke.

…Yeah.

Friday was a little weirder. Sasuke and I had tried to talk about what happened Tuesday afternoon – we really had! It just… wasn't working out so well. Every time we tried to get a moment alone in the halls, it was always interrupted, and it also wasn't one of those things you wanted to discuss over text when you couldn't see the other's face or even hear their voice. Therefore, we now had this secret hanging between us that neither of us knew how to deal with. Well, the bright side of the situation was that we could at least pretend to push the issue aside and interact with each other around our friends. That was about fifty times better than things had been.

Friday at lunch, I sat with Gaara, Neji, and Sasuke again. We hung out and generally had a good time; nothing really interesting happened, though. That is, until Neji caught sight of Tenten and decided to go sit with her, dragging Gaara along for reinforcement. That left just Sasuke and myself at the table, and _that_ was when things started getting weird. We hadn't been alone again since… you know.

"So…" I drawled, twiddling my thumbs, as the cliché went. He nodded. Silence stretched between us. Finally, I spoke again. "How have you been?" Man, that sounded dumb. I winced, thinking that we'd be talking about the weather or something next.

"Uhh, okay I guess," he confessed, awkwardly rubbing the back of his neck. "I talked to itachi… after."

"Was he mad?" I asked cautiously.

"Nah, he was… cool about it."

"Good, good."

Another pause in our speech. _Okay_, I thought. _Screw this, we're getting nowhere._ "Sasuke," I asked, turning to look at him head on. He slowly looked up and returned my gaze, a little confused by my sudden direct confrontation. "What are we now?" He seemed contemplative for a moment, along with a little irritated. Finally, he replied.

"Nothing," he told me firmly. "We can't be."

"Why _not?_" I asked him harshly. "What's stopping you now?"

"Well, one, _Naruto,_" he began, putting emphasis on my name. "I'm still not… happy about this! Is that so hard for you to understand?" I flinched away from his terse tone, offended. Of course I knew it was hard for him to accept! What did he think the source of all this was? Of course, I suppose I'd never had a problem with my sexuality to begin with, so I couldn't quite understand whatever struggle he was going through. "Two," he continued, "I don't really want people to _know_ about… all this," he said, gesturing between us. I nodded in understanding.

"Okay. I'm not saying we have to be… anything in particular." _But I wish we could be, you stubborn teme_, I added mentally. "I just want to know where all this leaves us." Did I mention that we were both blushing? Yeah, we were. I didn't notice it until about then, but I could suddenly feel the tips of my ears glowing, and there was a light pink hue dusting his cheeks. Damn. What happened if somebody noticed?

"Well… I just… don't have an answer for you," he muttered eventually. "What do you think, _dobe_?" He was asking _me?_ Well… well I didn't know! Why the fuck did he think I was asking _him?_ I shrugged, rather lamely, I might add, and sank into the collar of my jacket. He smirked. "Dobe," he repeated. I brushed it off, knowing that he didn't mean it offensively.

I felt better when lunch was over. An onlooker might say that we'd gotten nowhere, but I felt a like a lot had been accomplished. Sasuke and I had had a civil conversation about whatever it was going on between us. I now knew that Itachi was okay. Sasuke verbally admitted that he was… well, okay maybe he didn't say the word 'gay', but it was implied. Heavily. I figured that that counted.

Things seemed to be going the right way. Maybe this was going to work out after all.

* * *

**Sasuke Point of View**

I walked into my house later that night after hanging out with Gaara and Neji for most of the afternoon. It was almost nine, so I'd missed dinner. Well, whatever. I'd find something to eat. However, upon entering, I quickly lost my appetite. I walked into the living room to find Itachi and Deidara making out, and Itachi's fingers were dangerously close to Dei's belt. Maroon 5 was playing softly, and the lighting was low. Nice, Itachi. Very smooth. Insert eyeroll.

I cleared my throat after a moment, and they quickly broke apart, Itachi flushing and retracting his hands from Dei's waist, and Deidara giggling stupidly. I hated her so much. Ugh. Didn't even have the modesty to be embarrassed like Niisan. Itachi wiped his mouth – eww, it got that… wet? Blugh – and grinned. "Sasuke, you surprised us." Obviously. "Hey, so what's up?"

"Oh, not much," I informed him pleasantly, obviously exaggerating my smile. "What's up with you? Gonna go bang your slut now?" Deidara gasped, insulted, and frowned at me. Itachi frowned, as well, and the mood in the whole room darkened considerably.

"That, Sasuke," he told me threateningly. "Is not any of your business. My private affairs are not your concern, nor are they yours to pass judgement on." I 'hn'd at him.

"Whatever. If you two are going to be moaning and shit all night long, there's no reason for me to sleep here." I was really disgusted by the idea of Itachi doing a whore like Deidara… maybe I didn't like him, but he deserved much better than somebody just using him for a rebound. I was about to turn and exit the room when he stopped me.

"Hold it, Sasuke!" he commanded.

"What?" I asked, exasperated. I was already sick of the two of them.

"Where are you going to go, then?" Hmm, right. Where _was_ I going to go? I didn't think Gaara's brother and sister would mind, but I'd been at his house a lot lately, and while they surely wouldn't speak out, I was pretty sure they were getting tired of feeding me. Neji had a really strict curfew every night except for Saturday, so his parents surely wouldn't appreciate me dropping by this late, even on a Friday. Where to go, where to go? Then it hit me; Naruto lived alone, right? It shouldn't be much trouble for him to let me sleep there. It would be weird, duh, but I could manage myself pretty well, so I wouldn't be much trouble as a guest, and all he had to do was give me food. He didn't even have to talk to me if he didn't want to, although, secretly, I fervently hoped he did.

"Naruto's," I replied. He raised an eyebrow.

"Are you sure that's the most appropriate option, Sasuke?" he asked. I scowled; did I need to lay it out for him? I was _sixteen_ and could make my own decisions, and he was over there trying to get into his girlfriend's pants! He had no freakin room to talk. I didn't need to give him my reasons.

"Screw you," I told him before quickly exiting the room without a second glance. It might just have been my hatred for the blonde conjuring the noise, but I could have sworn that Deidara called after me that that was her job as I left.

* * *

**Naruto Point of View**

I was watching TV and eating potato chips out of the bag when my phone buzzed. I almost didn't even bother looking at the text, thinking it was probably Kiba giving me another unneeded update on his date with Hinata. However, with an exhausted sigh, I hit the pause button on the remote – thank God for Tivo – and rolled over to grab the phone. I was surprised to see that the text came not from Kiba's number, but from Sasuke's. It read, "I'm crashing at your place. No questions. Be there in 5 mins." Oh, shit! Sasuke was coming over in _five minutes?_ I was sitting around in boxers and a wrinkled tee! Without a second thought, I rushed to my room, dropping the chips in the pantry on the way there.

I frantically searched for anything that could possibly look decent. No, that shirt was dirty… that had a stain… why the heck where all these things on my floor? Didn't they know that was where the clean clothes went? Oh well. Eventually, I found a pair of somewhat-clean shorts and a new shirt. Good. With just a minute to spare, I sprinted around my apartment in a frenzy, trying to clean up just a little before he arrived.

My doorbell rang just as I was shoving a bunch of random junk I'd found into a drawer. Damn, it would be hard to find stuff later. There was an order to my chaos! Anyway, I dusted my hands off and ran to the front door. I unlocked the door and grinned, but he just brushed past me and dropped his school bag, which he'd apparently packed in, on the floor. He collapsed on the couch with an angsty huff and grumbled, "I fucking hate Deidara." I went to sit by him, gazing at him curiously.

"What happened?" I asked, wanting to place a hand on his shoulder, but not sure how he'd react. To be safe, I didn't, instead shrugging at him. He sighed.

"She's probably sucking Itachi's cock right now," he explained. Well, okay. A little more info than I'd wanted, but okay then. With a devilish smirk, I poked him.

"You jealous or something, angstbucket?"

He jumped up. "What? Fuck no!" I laughed.

"Kidding, Sasuke, kidding." I grinned at him, and he rolled his eyes, but I caught the tiny smile on his face. I chuckled once more. "You try too hard to be emotionless. Anyway, do you want some food, or did you already eat?" His stomach answered for him when it growled loudly, and he looked down, probably kinda embarrassed. I just smirked. "Go find whatever you want in my kitchen, I don't care."

"You know," he mumbled irritably as he got up. "I think that, as the host, you're supposed to fix me food." I just stuck my tongue out and watched in amusement as he made his way into my kitchen instead of waiting for an answer. I turned the TV back on and flipped the channel to Nicktoons. As soon as I saw what was on, I started giggling uncontrollably.

"Sasuke!" I called between laughs. He looked up from whatever he was making.

"What?"

"You'll never guess what's on!" He frowned and came into the living room, staring at the TV.

"Oh, God," he mumbled. "We're _not_ doing this again!" He promptly reached for the remote, but I snatched it away just in time. I wanted to watch Invader Zim!

"Nu-uh-uh!" I chided, holding it just out of reach. He scowled. "You've gotta work for it, Sasuke!"

"Give it here, dobe!" he insisted, moving closer and reaching across me to try to grab it. I just swung it temptingly between two fingers. "I'm serious, Naruto, give me the remote!"

"What are we gonna watch then?" I asked, a teasing smile on my face. "More reality TV?"

"I don't know, just not cartoons!" he shouted, lunging for it and missing as I moved it even farther away from him, laughing. Finally, I dropped the stupid thing, and he got it, quickly changing the channel. "Better," he confirmed before moving back to the kitchen, the remote clutched protectively in his hand.

"What is this?" I called to him, never having watched this show before.

"Anthony Bourdain," he replied, and I heard the sound of a knife hitting a cutting board. "It's a good show. Now shut up and watch. Maybe you'll learn something." I grumbled but settled in. The show was surprisingly interesting; I'd never even tried watching the travel channel. A few minutes into the show, Sasuke came back into the room, a bowl of salad in his hands. That wuss. Didn't he know real men ate noodles?

We watched for a while in silence, and I finally looked over at him. "Sasuke, what the hell are we doing?" I asked, stretching my arms as I did so. "It's Friday night, we're hanging out, and we're doing _nothing!_ Let's at least do something more fun than watch TV!" He nodded.

"I was actually thinking the same thing," he admitted. "I don't suppose you have any video games lying around?"

I raised an eyebrow. "You're a gamer?"

"Well, you didn't think I did nothing but homework and taking pictures, did you?" he asked incredulously. I just shrugged. Guess not; that would be a pretty boring life, after all. "It's been a while since I've played, though," he added. "I probably suck by now. Other stuff's come up." Gee, what 'stuff' could that be? Way to be subtle, Sasuke. Choosing not to comment, I got up and plugged in my playstation 3, retrieved the remote from the table, and put the TV on the right setting for the game. As the machine warmed up, I sifted through my many game discs.

"You like Halo?" I inquired.

"Not my thing."

"Modern Warfare?"

"Played it a million times."

"How about Star Wars?"

"I dunno. Which one?"

"Crap, nevermind. It's got a big scratch."

Eventually, we found one that we both agreed on in playable condition. I placed Grand Theft Auto into the CD drive and pushed it in. I quickly realized that when Sasuke said he probably sucked, it was to boost my confidence, not make an excuse for himself. He, quite frankly, kicked my ass. When I was tired of losing to him, I decided that video game time was over, and we were right back where we started.

"Hey," he mumbled, looking over at me with an utterly bored expression on his face. "What now?"

"I dunno," I replied unenthusiastically. He frowned.

"Well, it's close to midnight now. Guess I'm going to bed." I nodded, and he got up to take his bowl into the kitchen. When he came back into the living room portion of the apartment to grab his water glass, something hit me.

"Sasuke, where are you gonna sleep?" I asked, surprised this hadn't been obvious to one of us before now.

"Well, I guess in your bed." I pretty much died when he said that. I could feel a profound blush crossing my face as I stared at him, eyes widening in shock. Was he serious? That was… well, I mean… I guess it was great, but… wow. Holy shit.

"W-what?"

"I'm sleeping in your bed," he replied, unfazed. "You can live spending one night on the couch. It's pretty comfortable anyway." As soon as he said that, I was slapped out of my daze. My surprised look turned to a scowl.

"Why aren't you sleeping on the couch then?" I demanded, brow furrowing. "I don't think that you should get to kick me out of my bed after you invited yourself over! If it's so comfy, sleep here." He just smirked haughtily, effectively ticking me off.

"I'm sleeping there because you're nicer than me. How's that sound?" I opened my mouth to reply, but before I could answer, I realized that this was his warning. Anything I said from that point on could and would be used against me. Real nice. I felt special now, thanks. I just frowned, irritated.

"Whatever. I still need to change into my pajamas, though." Damn, I didn't even know if I had any that fit; I usually slept in my boxers. But with him here? No way. When hell froze over. Cause… well, yeah. That'd be too embarrassing… considering…

"Fine, come on," he muttered, crossing his arms over his chest. "Just get on with it." Sasuke then walked toward the back of the apartment, where my room was located, without looking back at me. Bastard, acting like I was inconveniencing him. Wasn't I the one who'd let him into _my_ house? Let him eat _my_ food and play _my_ video games and sleep in _my_ room? I sighed, deciding I'd get nowhere if I voiced my complaints; that was just the kind of pissy person Sasuke was. He should be glad he had so many good qualities; otherwise I'd have kicked him out by now. Whore.

I pushed myself off of the couch and followed him into my room, quietly pattering along. I'd never admit it, but something about the cool way Sasuke was acting was troubling me. It was like… like he wasn't exactly ignoring what had occurred between us; rather, he was ignoring the outcome. He accepted that things had happened, I could tell that much, because he wasn't avoiding me for fear of being forced to admit to it. He just… chose not to let anything happen as a result. I frowned and bit my lip, clenching my fists in anger as I walked toward my room. Damn him…!

I sifted around in my chest of drawers while Sasuke sat lazily on my bed, staring at the ceiling. I frowned. The more I thought about it, the fact that Sasuke wouldn't let anything happen because of what had already occurred between us, the more angry I became. And, I guess I also felt… kinda hurt. I mean… didn't he want this? Didn't he want to be with me at all? If not, then… then why did he kiss me? That… ugh! There wasn't even a word for it!

Suddenly, I remembered the conversation we'd had at lunch, and my anger softened. He just… was scared. He'd never admit it, but he was. Oh! And there was that other thing, too…

"Sasuke," I murmured quietly. He sat up.

"Hn?"

"Do you have an answer yet?" I looked back at him, and he seemed utterly confused.

"What are you talking about, loser?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Well, earlier at lunch," I said, beginning to explain. "I asked you… where all this left us. And you just said you didn't have an answer for me. I wanted to know if, after having some more time to think about it… if you had an answer now."

"Um," he droned, eyes widening. Guess he'd been caught off guard. I smiled to myself when he looked down; it was futile, considering I'd already seen the slight blush his cheeks were bearing. "I… no, I don't." I sighed.

"Well," I began. "Maybe I need to help you… reach that answer." I stood up, a little apprehensive; was I really going to do this? Here, now, create drama where there currently was none? Yes, I answered myself, I was.

"What are you talking about?" he asked, sounding wary. Oh, so he'd already caught on. Without replying, I walked over to the bed, standing beside it and looking at him intently. He crawled back a little, but I reached out and grabbed his wrist. "Naruto… not now," he warned, glaring half-heartedly. I didn't care what he said; I needed to know. I needed _him _to know. I needed to know where this left us. With a sighed, I clambered onto the bed with him, not embarrassed, just kind of… concentrating on his face. His eyes got a little wider as I neared, and he continued to crawl backwards. "Dobe… I'm warning you…"

I advanced more, leering over him a little. He moved back again, but he almost fell off the bed when his palm met nothing but empty space. Startled, he swam forward with his arms and caught his balance, but the expression of shock didn't leave his face. He had run out of space to retreat. I moved forward, straddling his waist now. He leaned back, I leaned forward. "Sasuke," I murmured before pushing my lips against his. He froze beneath me, body tensing. I slid an arm around his neck and pulled him up toward me, lapping at his lips with my tongue and begging for entrance; I was sick and tired of submitting to a guy who couldn't even make up his mind.

He tried to push away desperately for a moment or two, but I wouldn't have it. He wasn't going to get away from it, not again. I forced my tongue into his mouth since he was obviously refusing to part his lips, and he gasped as I immediately put my tongue to his instead of exploring for a bit. His heartbeat quickened, and slowly, unsurely, he began to kiss me back. I turned both of our bodies and laid him against the bed, climbing on top of him. I kind of liked this feeling of dominance.

When we finally broke apart, gasping for air, he was blushing – hard. I guess I was too, but I wasn't really paying much attention at the moment. Instead, I fixed him with an intense look. "That was… that was good, huh?" I asked. He nodded before grabbing my shirt collar and pulling me down for more. This time he fought me for dominance, and he almost won, but now that I'd had a taste of that dominance, I wasn't about to give it up so quickly. I think he may have been still a little shocked, as well, but I wasn't about to complain or anything.

This one was harsher, rougher. Tongues were rammed against each other, wrestling even though I was already exerting dominance over Sasuke. We only broke apart for a few seconds at a time to suck in air before we met each other's lips again. Neither of us knew how much time was passing, nor did we care. Slowly, I moved away from his lips, kissing down his jaw line, and I could feel myself getting hard from the reaction I was getting from him. It felt like the natural thing to do, and I just went with it. He squirmed under me. "Naruto…"

I kissed the sensitive skin under his ears, and as he gasped at the sensation, I felt my fingers perhaps drifting a little closer to his zipper than they should have been. He noticed, because I suddenly found a hand closing over my own, curling my fingers back into a fist and pushing my hands away from his fly. "Not… now, not… we can't…" he panted as I nipped at his neck. He curled his legs up a bit and let out a strangled sound as I moved up again and nibbled softly at the edge of his earlobe. "Why… are you…?" he asked, breathing heavily now. My own panting broke up my answer.

"Because… I want y-you… to see that… it's okay, and it's… good. So you can… reach y-your answer." He looked down at me and blinked, an odd expression on his face. I licked at the side of his neck, and he gasped; guess that felt good. As I allowed my tongue to play a bit more with him, I slowly felt his hand lift from mine, allowing them to wander back up toward the zipper of his jeans. As I realized this, I stopped what I was doing, and he gave me a look that said 'why the hell did you quit?' I fiddled with the button of his pants before I asked the question nervously, swallowing a little. I didn't actually think I'd get this far.

"Are you… serious? You're sure?"

"Nn," he grunted, nodding. I grinned, excited; this was the farthest I had ever gotten with anybody. With fingers trembling with anticipation, I undid his button and zipper, still teasing at his neck with my teeth and tongue. Slowly, I removed his jeans from his upper legs, pushing them down. Next, I fiddled with the lining of his boxers, and he tensed his shoulders up but otherwise seemed fine with it. Soon, those, too, were disposed of, and I dragged my gaze downward, although I felt a little perverted doing so. After all… this was the first time in my memory that I'd seen somebody else's… you know, dick.

The first thought that crossed my mind was, _damn, I think he's bigger than me. Bastard!_

I moved my shaking hands mindlessly, more than a little apprehensive. What if I was bad? What was I even going to _do?_ I'd wanted to get here, true, but I was a little frozen. What… was I _supposed _to do? I made an irritated sound in the back of my throat; shit, this wasn't going well. I gave him a quick kiss on the lips, looking away from him for a second. Maybe if I just let my hands work, it'd be easier.

As I kissed him again and again, rough and wet, I found my finger massaging the sensitive skin around his already semi-erect manhood. Was I supposed to be doing that? I hoped so. Well, a moment later, I found that it was working, because he tore his lips away from mine, panting hard and blushing profoundly. He rocked his hips back a little, gasping as I continued and teased him to full erectness. I smiled a little; so I _was _doing this right, huh?

I don't know when I realized the soft moaning coming from deep in his throat, but as soon as I did, it was driving me insane. The deep, guttural sound of pleasure that I was able to draw from the dark-haired Uchiha – _me_ – was absolutely intoxicating. I wanted to make him moan more. I wanted him to moan like that for me, but louder and longer. I wanted to hear it.

My hands wandered closer and closer to his shaft, slowly, tenderly, touching the warm base. He gasped as the pads of my fingers brushed against the sensitive skin, and the sound both aroused and encouraged me. I let my fingers touch more, touch top, touch bottom, touch _harder_... and he gasped and panted and blushed and rocked his hips as I did so. I was fully erect now, as well, and my breaths were heavy and shuddering. I had never felt more lustful in my life; this was the height of my stimulatory experience. To see him receiving so much pleasure from me, to know that I was _causing_ him so much pleasure... no feeling could compare. I kissed and nipped at his neck as I began to take a firmer hold on his erection, sucking over the bite marks. That might leave hickeys, but I think both of us were beyond caring.

He squirmed and bucked his hips more as I kneaded up and down his length with my thumb and forefinger, drawing shuddering sighs and throaty moans from the boy under me. I moaned along with him – his groans were beyond arousing. I was... _so_ hard. For him. For this amazing, gorgeous creature who I brought so much into my life, but who got so little in return. For this angelic figure, bastard that he was, who marched right in and interrupted my life, who (thank God) tutored me, who spent time with me, who kissed me, who cared for me, as much as he hated to admit it. And I cared for him more than I had ever thought possible. How was it that I could want this so much? How was it that I could need this, need _him_, so much? I needed his aura and his face, his neck, his arms, his smile, rare as it was, his scowl, his smirks and his sighs and his smell and his taste and his everything. I needed him. This was how it was supposed to be, wasn't it? As that thought crossed my mind, I also felt my mouth moving away from his neck and throat down to a far more dangerous place that my hands were already becoming intimately familiar with.

"Naruto," he groaned, back arching as another sigh escaped his throat. I shuddered; his voice was a hauntingly beautiful aphrodisiac to me. I closed my eyes, braced my hands against the bed, and scooted back farther, lowering my mouth and relaxing as his aroma embraced me.

As my lips first made contact with the tip of his shaft, he let out a shocked "Augh!" which coaxed my tongue out of its warm cavern. His breathing grew heavier and drier as I lapped the pre-cum off of the end of his length. "Naruto...!" echoed all around the room, laced with desire and passion. His tone verbalized the feelings surging through my own body, and I opened my mouth wider, enveloping the end of his cock. I suddenly felt a hand take firm hold of my hair, quickly followed by another, and he held on with a tight grip, almost as if attempting to stay attached to this world by holding onto me as best he could. I couldn't let him stay, though; I needed to push him over the edge and drive him into euphoria. I wanted to bring him off. My tongue worked against his shaft, and I sucked gently, drawing longer moans and more whispers of my name from the dark-haired angel. _My_ dark-haired angel. The sound of my name... his moans... it was almost more than I could handle. It took all the will I possessed to remind myself to be soft and gentle, not savage. But I wanted to. So badly.

I engulfed more of his cock in my mouth, gradually sucking and licking harder and harder, careful to mind my teeth. I wanted him to cum, and I wanted to hear him cry my name at the top of his lungs. The thought was intoxicating. "Naruto," he murmured, this time sounding as though he was talking to me instead of just saying my name. "Naruto, I can't... hold it...!" I nodded, and the bobbing of my head caused him to intake sharply and cry out, his grasp tightening on my blond locks. I sucked in air through my nose before I began to slowly bob my head more, up and down. His cries and exclamations went something along the lines of, "Ah... ah, ah!" And suddenly, I felt a significant jerk as his testicles contracted completely, and I found my mouth suddenly filled with something warm, sticky, and very, very Sasuke. It was his ejaculate, and even as he murmured a strangled, "I'm... sorry...!" through the cries of his climax, I swallowed the liquid. It was something precious to me; it was the first time I'd brought such a reaction out of him, and I wasn't about to reject my prize.

When I pulled away from him, coughing slightly, he let go of my hair, instead pulling roughly at my collar, dragging me in for a kiss that neither of us dominated; it simply _was_, a beautiful celebration of what had transpired between us. It was not all the way, by any means, but it had meant so much that we were both somewhat in shock. "Thank you," he murmured. "Amazing."

I smiled and kissed him again. His hand suddenly landed against my crotch, and I gasped. Even through the fabric of my jeans, his touch was like a jolt of electricity to my raging hard-on. "Aah...hah!" I cried. He looked up at me.

"Want me to do you?" Well, of course I did. I wanted it more than anything, but I looked into his eyes and saw that he was tired beyond belief. I could take care of this somehow myself.

"No," I told him, and I could see the relief as he began to droop slightly. "Let's just go to sleep. Are you gonna make me sleep on the couch?" He shook his head, smiling.

"No, sleep here. If you don't, I'll kill you, stupid _dobe._" Well, how could I argue with that. Without another word between us, I kissed him softly on the lips, just a light brush, and dragged him down onto the pillow. He latched onto my arm as his breathing slowed, and he steadily lost himself and entered a world of dreams. I smiled at him, brushing a lock of hair out of his face before pushing myself up. I felt bad about leaving, but I reminded myself that it was only for a moment as I took care of my hard-on.

I traipsed into my bathroom in a daze, still flushed from our earlier activities. As I brought myself off quickly, images of his face from those moments flashed through my mind, and it was the most pleasant climax I'd had in a long time. After everything was cleaned up, I wandered back to the bed to find him curled up slightly, one arm clutching the pillow, the other splayed across the blankets, unturned palm open as if searching for something to grab onto. As I rejoined him on the bed, I took his open hand in mine, and his soft fingers instantly curled around it. Snuggling into his warmth, I clutched his hand tight, and that was how I fell asleep.

* * *

**A/N: AHAHA, sorry SasuNaru fans! I _did_ say this was SasuNaruSasu... meaning that Naru-chan gets his turn as seme, too! lol xD sorry, most of you are probably like "WTF IZ DIS AHHH NOOO SAS-UKE MAH EYEZ ARE BLEEDIN!" xDDD**

**So... I've never written a BJ before... was it weird? I feel like it was weird. *horribly inconfident***

**Hrm, well, I do believe that I need some feedback on this, because I'm not as comfortable with my ability to write hard yaoi ;A; I fail don't I?**

**Review mehbeh? :D**


	9. Pancakes

**A/N: OMG guys I am soooo sorry for the late update! My internet's been acting screwy (urgh, I need a new router or something), and... yesss, a thousand apologies and whatnot ^^"**

**This is a fluff chapter... because it can be :D I haven't really had any of that yet. And I hate fluff, so it's maybe less fluff and more... mildly entertaining escapades xD but yeah... the beginning is pretty much fluff.**

**This chapter goes out to my uke. I love you~!**

**Disclaimer: Naruto is MINE! You can't have it back, Masashi Kishimoto - I stole it! 3:D**

**Kishimoto-sensei - *angryface***

**Me - ...fine T_T *returns Naruto***

* * *

Chapter 9

**Naruto Point of View**

When I woke up the next morning, I felt strangely warm. It took me a second before I realized that that was because I was sleeping next to another body. As my brain fought off the overwhelming urge to roll over and fall back asleep, I realized that my right hand was caught in something. Oh, right; it was Sasuke's hand. We were still... oh, wow. Suddenly, memories of the night before came flooding back to me. I smiled to myself and cuddled up against him, enjoying the comfortable feeling. Minutes passed, and I began feeling drowsy again, but before I could fall back asleep, he began to stir. I immediately woke up all the way; what would I say to him after last night? And more importantly, would he be as, er, 'appreciative' as he'd been the night before?

He finally cracked his eyes open, and he jumped back a little, obviously startled to see me staring right back at him so... close. "Jesus, Naruto!" he exclaimed. "Oh, God, that freaked me out." He sat up, closing his eyes and obviously trying to calm his pounding heart. He lifted a hand to brush the hair out of his face; rather, he _tried_ to lift a hand, because as soon as he tried to move it, he realized that it was latched onto mine. I smiled at him when he gave me a weird look.

"Morning!" I greeted him cheerfully, leaning in rather close and not letting go of his hand. Instead, I just raised my free hand and brushed his dark, somewhat tangled hair out of his eyes with delicate fingers, looking into obsidian eyes that were now avoiding mine. As I drew my fingers back, I murmured his name softly. "Sasuke?"

It took him a long time to answer. When he finally spoke, it was tentative, like he wasn't positive that he should actually reply. "Yeah... dobe?"

"Do you have an answer for me yet?"

A long silence passed between us. He opened his mouth once or twice like he was going to speak, and then he didn't, instead turning away and frowning. His eyes were constantly darting from mine to the bed to the wall to the floor and back to mine again. Slowly, he muttered, "It leaves us as... more than friends. A lot more." He didn't speak again after that, but his gaze was now boring into mine, his jaw set in determination and his eyes challenging me to say something.

"Do you wanna... try a relationship?" I asked hesitantly, blushing. I felt kind of... awkward. After all, relationship meant boyfriends. Yeah, with an 's'. And, no matter how much I wanted this, that was still a pretty scary word.

He stared at me for a while. "Naruto... you know that I... really can't," he told me.

"Why not?" I screamed at him, about ready to beat him with a pillow. "You're telling me that after I did all that for you last night, you, a single guy, just _'can't'_ be in a relationship with me? I like you, Sasuke! I thought you liked me!" He scowled.

"I do, stupid... stupid _idiot!"_ He yelled back in frustration. "It's not that I can't! It's that... that word... would mean..."

"It means we care about each other," I supplied, leaning closer to him. "It means we wanna be around each other. It means we want to be _with_ each other. Is that so bad?" Before he could reply, I pressed my lips against his softly. His eyes widened, but he pressed his lips forward as well. Suddenly, I felt a warm, wet tongue poking at my lips, and I grinned. I allowed him to enter my mouth, and his tongue poked around for a moment before he retreated, pulling away from me. I looked at him again with hopeful eyes. "So?" I asked, prompting him to answer my earlier question.

He quirked his mouth into a slight frown, but as he studied me, it quickly turned into a smirk. "Hn," he hummed before reaching out and suddenly pulling me closer into an embrace. I was shocked, to say the least; even after all that, this was the first time we'd... hugged. Slowly, I wrapped my arms around his torso, and his embrace only grew tighter. "Fine, Naruto," he whispered into my ear. For once, we were having a normal conversation, and I wasn't 'dobe' or 'loser' or 'idiot'. I was Naruto. So I smiled and leaned into the hug and inhaled deeply the scent of tomatoes.

* * *

Later, Sasuke and I were milling around, looking for breakfast. "Dobe," he called, his chin propped up in one hand as I sifted through the pantry. "Why is the only food at your place ramen?"

"It's not all ramen!" I cried defensively. "I have, uh... let's see." I shifted a few plastic ramen cups aside. "Oh! I have some... Chips Ahoy!" I announced, lifting the half-empty cookie packet and smiling. He rolled his eyes. "Fine then," I grumbled, placing them back in the pantry. "There's... some low-sodium soup!"

"Does that sound like breakfast?"

"No."

In the end, I didn't have much luck; my pantry was mostly stocked with snack food, ramen, and various types of soup, thought there _was_ a pack of very, very stale Poptarts. When Sasuke attempted to find something in my fridge, all he turned up was cold, unfinished ramen, a pitcher of iced tea, a carton of milk, a few fruits, a few vegetables, some soda, and lunch meat. I was all out of bread, so no toast. Some of the cookies and junk Kakashi had brought by were sitting on the counter, but they were all kind of old now, since my silver-haired uncle hadn't come by in close to two weeks. In the end, we wasted ten minutes and ended up with nothing but empty stomachs and disappointment.

"Naruto," Sasuke called, and I smiled when I heard him say my name.

"Yeah?" Suddenly, I felt a hand on my wrist, and before I knew what was happening, he was dragging me out my apartment door. "What the hell, Sasuke! Where are we going?"

"The grocery store," he replied bluntly.

"What... the store?" I asked. "It's nine in the morning on a Saturday! Can't it wait?"

"Nope," he informed me. "I'm hungry, and I know you are, too, so we're going to go buy food. Got it?"

"Blegh, fine," I conceded. "You know, you're no fun at all, always so demanding." He ignored my comment and almost literally dragged me down the stairs. I had to hop lithely behind him to avoid falling flat on my face and tumbling down to the parking lot. When I stumbled, he caught me, and I had a sudden flashback of the incident that had occurred on these stairs before. It involved me landing in his lap and a significant amount of blushing on my part.

Apparently, he did, too, because after he caught me, our eyes met, and he looked away quickly. "Tch. Usuratonkachi."

"What does that one mean?" I asked. He knew too many words in other languages! At lunch, he'd once called me a 'dummkopf'! Apparently, that meant 'dumb-head' in German; I was flattered, to say the least. Insert heavy sarcasm here.

"Something along the lines of 'freaking idiot'," he replied with an oh-so-obvious smirk on his face. Whoever taught him to smirk like that was a terrible person. I fumed, but he just continued pulling me toward his fancy little Civic. As we clambered in, I found myself envying his leather interior; I wasn't about to tell him, though! The bastard had just insulted me... I think. Yeah. So, no way I'd be complimenting him on his car! Suddenly, I felt a pair of eyes on me. I was busy pouting, so I turned away from him, not wanting to see his haughty expression. However, it seemed that he wasn't going to give me much of a choice, because I was suddenly caught by the shoulder and flipped around to stare into his eyes.

"Don't pout. You know I'm kidding," he told me in a firm-but-happy tone. I frowned and stuck out my tongue.

"Stop calling me stupid!" I demanded, crossing my arms over my chest. He just grinned a tiny bit.

"Hn. Dobe." I was then yanked forward into a kiss that I was completely unprepared for, and thus, I could feel a blush coming to my cheeks as he pushed his lips against mine gently. We sat there for a few seconds with his lips on mine, then he slowly pulled back, looking me straight in the eyes. "You realize that this is a secret, right?" he asked.

"What?"

"Our... relationship... thing," he mumbled, as though trying to force the words out. I grinned.

"Sure! Yeah, I can understand that," I replied. To be honest, I wasn't sure I was ready to come out to all of Konoha High, either. He smiled at me, nodded, and turned so that he was facing forward. As he pulled out of the parking lot, I marveled at the fluid movements of his car; I needed to get me one of these!

"Sasuke, where's the radio dial thing?" I asked after a moment. Without more than a quick glance to the side, he turned it on and tapped the dial.

"Go ahead and pick a station." I smiled at him and took control of the radio dial. After searching the stations for what seemed like forever, but really couldn't have been more than a minute or so, I found one that was playing some 3DG music. Feeling rather accomplished, I leaned back in my seat and began to hum along with the lyrics.

_Even if I say_

_It'll be all right_

_Still I hear you say_

_You want to end your life_

Teasingly, I looked up at Sasuke. "Hey, you," I called. "I know you're all depressed and shit, but don't go around killing yourself. 'Kay?" He raised an eyebrow and frowned at me, probably wondering where I was going with this. "Because, you know," I muttered, mock-seductively. "I don't think I'd be able to find a replacement bed buddy."

"Shut up."

We got the the store a few minutes later. Even this early in the morning, there were dozens of cars already parked in the parking lot. "Aww, this sucks!" I exclaimed as we got out of his car, gesturing to all the cars around us. "I was hoping we'd have the whole store to ourselves! That way, we could do all kinds of crazy shit and not get caught or anything." He suddenly fixed me with a hard stare.

"Dobe," he muttered. "Look, if you embarrass me in public, I'll never, ever take you with me _anywhere_ ever again." He pointed a finger at me as though he were reprimanding a dog. "Got that?" I glared at him for a minute before nodding, trotting behind him in a defeated way as he crossed the parking lot. My mood lifted, though, as we stepped through the doors.

"Oooh, Sasuke, can we get some candy?"

"No."

"Sasuke, did you know they're having a sale on beef jerky?"

"Should I care?"

"Teme. Oh, look, it's one of those gumball machines. Did you bring a quarter, Sasuke?"

"Not for you."

I was almost literally like a kid in a candy store. I'd already exhausted Sasuke, and he had barely grabbed a shopping basket. "You hold that," he instructed, and I took it without argument, eyes wide as I took in everything. The grocery store had never seemed so fun, but suddenly, with somebody accompanying me, everything looked new and exciting. We first headed to the bread isle, and I automatically grabbed a loaf of Sara Lee white bread, but Sasuke quickly snatched it out of my hand.

"Hey!" I protested. "What was that for!" He shook his head.

"That's bad for you," he told me. "Get some wheat bread for a change." I crossed my arms over my chest.

"No way!" I declared. "That stuff's gross! It's just... eww." My reasoning was impeccable. He shot me a look.

"Please, Dobe," he began to beg. "I want you to be healthy!" He waved the bag in front of me and pulled a set of puppy dog eyes. Aww, now, hey! That just wasn't fair; he already had his infamous Uchiha glare! Now he had perfect puppy dog eyes? How many formidable ocular powers did these Uchihas have? I looked away, attempting to resist, but... so... damn... cute... fucking adorable... I grabbed the bread from his hand and chucked it into the basket testily.

"Happy?" I asked.

"Very," he replied before shoving me gently. "You give in too easy, Naruto," he told me. "Maybe you'll be easy to seduce?" I jumped and blushed profusely, sidestepping away to the other side of the isle.

"S-stop being creepy, teme!" I cried, frowning. Sure, last night had been amazing, but the idea of s-sex... with Sasuke... well, I mean, not to say it wasn't turning me on, but it was the last thing I'd expected him to bring up in the freaking grocery store! And what was with this sudden 180? Yesterday evening, he'd been freaking out about me trying to kiss him, and now he was talking about getting me in bed? I mean, I had joked about that once or twice, including the car ride this morning, but... _I'd _been hoping for this outcome all along! He was suddenly just all flirty in the middle of the bread isle? I was really glad that we were alone.

It wasn't like I was complaining, though.

Anyway, we walked down the isle (was that just me, or did that sound a lot more romantic than grocery shopping was supposed to?) and turned, making our way toward isle 12, which was stocked with breakfast food. He picked up a box of pancake mix. "Cook these for me, dobe," he instructed before placing them in our shopping basket.

"What?" I shrieked, perhaps a bit louder than necessary. "Sasuke, I can't cook worth a shit! _You _make them if you're so hungry for pancakes!" He shook his head.

"No, like I said yesterday evening before you so _rudely_ forced me to make my own dinner, I'm your guest, so you get to make me food." I pouted, but didn't protest again. However, I was starting to feel sort of helpless at the hands of Sasuke. He was a master of manipulation, wasn't he? Or maybe he was right; I probably just gave in too easily. Wait, did I just admit to that? Damn!

Next, a box of cereal was added to the basket. I looked down, expecting to see some Cookie Crisp or something good like that, but I was greeted with a big Kashi logo. "Aww, Sasuke!" I complained. "Why do you keep trying to feed me all this stupid health food?"

"That stuff's good!" he defended. "It's kind of like Cheerios, but it's sweeter and still good for you!" What, really? Hm. When he was wrong, he was going back out by himself and buying some good cereal for me. I followed him down the isle a little more until we came to the toaster pastries. "What are you doing?" he asked when I stopped in front of the rows of tiny boxes.

"Getting something decent," I replied. He frowned, but allowed me to indulge, and I looked back to the shelves. I was surprised by his lack of protest, but it clicked when I turned to find him gone. When then hell had he gotten away? And, more importantly, where did he go? I didn't have to wait long, because I ran into him coming back as I exited the isle. No, literally, I ran into him.

It was a disaster. He stumbled backwards and fell on his ass, I tumbled forward and landed on top of him in a rather, erm, 'suggestive' position. We both realized what was happening after a few seconds, and he blushed a little and turned away. I, on the other hand, blushed a_ lot _and turned away. After all, this was a public place. "Where were you?" I asked weakly.

"Getting orange juice." I noticed the fallen carton a few feet from us and nodded. It seemed that he regained his composure a moment before I did, because suddenly, the words, "What do you think you're doing on _top_ of me, dobe?" were whispered smoothly into my ear. I shuddered as his breath hit the side of my neck, but it only took a moment for a wicked grin to cross my face.

"I would think the answer was obvious," I replied. "I wanna make you say my name like you so _desperately_ cried last night." He frowned and turned away, defeated, but only for a moment.

"A fluke, dobe. If anything, it proves that next time anything happens, I'm gonna make you say _my_ name." He grinned and winked seductively. "Gotta make the score even, you know?" I scowled and turned away from him.

"Whatever." Suddenly, I became aware of a presence next to us. Sasuke did, too, apparently, because he looked up just as I did, and my eyes widened as a blush crossed my face, mortified.

A rather appalled-looking elderly woman in a frumpy, frilly-collared dress was staring at us, eyes big as saucers behind her enormous glasses. Her hand, which I assumed would already be pretty unsteady, was shaking violently as she clasped her shopping basket. The bottle of prune juice she'd been clutching lay on the floor, forgotten. I looked down at Sasuke, and he met my eyes. Suddenly, his gaze turned to a glare, and he turned back to the woman.

"Nothing to see here, lady," he muttered, scowling at her. She gasped.

"Don't talk to me, you homosexual!" she cried before rounding and running (or, inching... at the pace of a snail... a retarded snail... trying to lug a retarded turtle through extra-crunchy peanut butter...) away, talking about how we'd take down the country. I almost snorted; it was beyond ridiculous. Sasuke stared after her for a long moment, an odd expression on his face. Suddenly, he pushed himself off the floor and got out from under me, yanking me to my feet and grabbing the carton of orange juice off the tiled floor before dragging me by my shirt collar toward the front of the store.

"Come on, Naruto, we're leaving," he insisted shortly. I looked at him, and I knew now wasn't the time to argue. I let him take me to the check out line, and we left without another word to anybody there. When we got back to the car, the groceries sat in my lap, and he was sitting behind the steering wheel, a dark look on his face and his fingers drumming against the steering wheel in an agitated way.

"Sasuke," I murmured, breaking the silence nervously.

"What?" he asked shortly.

"You need to forget about that woman," I advised. A long pause come before he finally spoke again.

"How can I, Naruto?" he demanded from me. "This is exactly why I've been trying to deny this for _so fucking long!_ People _hate _people like us!" he cried. "They look at us and know we're different and _hate _us!" I stared at him for a moment.

"You can't let one old woman mess you up like this, Sasuke," I said after a while. "She's probably still living in 1950. You need to let it go, or you'll never be happy." He looked over at me, tearing his eyes away from the parking space in front of him for the first time. Suddenly, he leaned forward. My heart started beating frantically, and I thought he was going to kiss me, but instead I felt his forehead leaning against mine. He looked me in the eyes for a moment, and I gulped, a little flustered by how very close we were.

"You're right," he murmured, his breath hitting my face. "You're right." He smiled at me before pulling back and shifting his car into reverse, backing out of the parking space. I smiled at him, too, glad to see Sasuke finally able to accept himself. Now, the question was, how would other people accept us if they found out?

* * *

So, yes, it was official. I couldn't even follow the directions on a box of pancake mix. Sasuke came over a few minutes after I'd dug all my supplies out to see how I was doing and frowned at the soupy mixture I'd created. He poked it hesitantly, pretending to be somewhat afraid of it, and I just stuck my tongue out at the gesture, shooing him away. He didn't seem to be shooed particularly well, because he grabbed the bowl, carried it over to the kitchen sink,and dumped it out.

"Hey!" I cried. "What was that for? I worked hard to make that." Unthinkingly, I put my hands on my hips, and when he turned around to look at me, he just stared for a minute before bursting out laughing. "What?" I asked, irritated.

"You look like a woman," he supplied before moving closer to me.

"Well your hair looks like a duck," I muttered under my breath.

"What?"

"Nothing."

He came up behind me and led my back to the counter, his hands on my wrists. I smiled to myself, knowing he was going to come help me make them. Maybe I didn't particularly like cooking, but I could settle for this. "Gonna show me how to do it right?" I asked.

"Looks like I'm gonna have to," he said in mock-exasperation. I laughed and beat his leg with the wooden spoon in my hand. He let out a tiny 'ouch' and shook his head. He moved out from behind me and stood next to me, grabbing the box and a measuring cup. "Okay, look," he instructed, speaking to me like I was a small child. "You fill up _one cup_," he tapped the illustration on the back. "With the mix, then dump it in the bowl, _like this._"

"Oh, I see!" I exclaimed, playing along. "So, all you have to do is get somebody else to do it for you, and you're all set!" He thwacked me on the side of the head.

"Stop being such a loser, or I'm leaving and eating at my house," he commanded, and I laughed.

"I'll try," I promised. I got the milk out of the refrigerator for the second time that morning and stole the measuring cup from Sasuke, filling it sloppily as he scolded me for being an idiot. With a splash, it was dumped into the pile of dry mix, and I wielded my wooden spoon with a flourish and plunged it into the bowl. I was suddenly aware of Sasuke flinching next to me, and turned to see him spattered with the mix. I couldn't hold back a snicker.

"Shut up, dobe!" he insisted, shaking his arms in an effort to rid himself of the stuff and scowling at me. "Just to let you know, this was _not_ you being less of a loser; you just managed to become more of one." What? Well, excuse me, but I believe I was the one slaving over a bowl of instant pancake mix to make him his (very late) breakfast! With a glare, I flicked more of the mixture onto him, and he jumped as it hit him in the face. His expression was priceless; I laughed out loud, pointing the spoon and thus flicking even more of the mix onto him, this time onto his jacket. He glowered at me. "That's how you want it, huh?"

Suddenly, the spoon was torn from my grip, and Sasuke scooped up a big dollop of the poorly-mixed concoction to throw at me. His aim was dead on; I was suddenly aware of a sticky substance all over my face, one that I was much less willing to swallow than what had been in my mouth the night before. With a gasp, I raised a hand and brushed the pancake mix away, mouth agape. "It's on, then," I replied, reaching into the bowl with my bare hand and producing a gooey, dripping handful of the stuff. He backed up.

"Dobe, don't you _dare," _he threatened before promptly being spattered with unmade pancake from head to toe. I laughed wickedly.

"You're a mess!" I told him.

"And whose fault do you think that is?" he retorted. My fingers were still dripping batter, so I went to wash them off in the sink. Bad idea; Sasuke, who apparently liked to _cheat_, wasted no time in throwing a glob at my back! That damn teme! I turned around slowly, a death glare I didn't even know I possessed on my face, as I muttered an incoherent stream of curses at him. Without hesitation, I raised the spoon and dug it once more into what was once intended to be pancakes and held the goo-filled utensil at the ready, preparing to fling it at him.

He ran.

Not about to let him get away, I dashed after him, rounding a corner sharply and losing a bit of my ammo to the floor. I couldn't keep this up for too much longer or I'd be helpless when I finally caught him. With that in mind, I put on the speed. "Sasuke!" I cried. "You little... ugh! Stop it!"

"And why, dobe," he began, looking back for a moment as he cleared the coffee table almost effortlessly. "Would I do that?" Without waiting for a reply, he ducked into the safety of the bathroom and locked the door, efficiently barring me from him. Angered, I formed a fist and banged the door, which shuddered on its hinges. "You're going to break it if you keep doing that," he informed me haughtily.

"Shut up!" I replied in an irritated tone. He thought he was safe just because he'd locked the door? This was my apartment! He was at a clear disadvantage. Silently, I stood on my tiptoes and reached above the door to the very top ledge of the door frame, patting blindly in search of the tiny metal cylinder I was seeking. I'd have to learn what those were called one of these days. You know, those little metal sticks you jammed into a lock to deactivate it? Oh, well, regardless, I had found it, and I jumped slightly so that I could fully grasp the thing. Damn my below-average height.

"Still there?" he asked from inside the room, obviously thinking he was completely safe.

"Yep!" I replied cheerily as I maneuvered the brass object into the tiny hole in the door knob, jostling it around a bit as I did so. Suddenly, I heard a click, and I knew I'd hit the sweet spot. A sly smirk crossed my face.

"What was that?" he asked, somewhat warily.

As I flung the door open, I beamed triumphantly and replied, "Just the lock." His eyes widened and he slowly backed up against the wall.

"I swear, dobe, if you get that stuff on me again...!" he threatened, leaving the end to the imagination. I just rolled me eyes.

"Yes, you're very scary," I mocked. My steps thudded against the tile floor as I neared him, and he closed his eyes, submitting to his pancake-y fate. Pancake-y? Yes, that was a new adjective as of that moment. Regardless of my newly-broadened vocabulary, I had to finish this ridiculous fight. I lifted the spoon right above his head and slowly, painstakingly tipped the utensil, watching the goo ooze onto Sasuke's obsidian hair, trickling down the sides as the half-combined mixture spread. He winced as the batter, which was probably none-too-pleasant to feel on your head, met the pale skin of his cheek. We stared at each other for a moment.

"HAH! I win!" I suddenly shouted, throwing my arms up, spoon still clutched in my hand. He raised an eyebrow and pretended to be unimpressed, but I heard the tiny snicker that escaped him. With I knowing look, I ceased my celebration and stared until he finally couldn't contain it anymore and began to laugh loudly. I joined in, and he rolled his eyes.

"You're retarded," he told me flatly before pulling me in for a totally unexpected kiss. I tensed, but quickly realized what was going on and relaxed, melding our lips together. When he broke away a few seconds later, he pushed me away and moved so that he was no longer against the wall, taking me by the collar and yanking me toward the door. "Now I've gotta take a shower. Go wipe the rest of that junk off your face, change your shirt, and make the freaking pancakes, okay?"

I frowned. "I dunno," I joked. "I don't think I can manage, they might turn out disgusting." He simply pushed me further out into the hallway.

"That's a risk I'll have to take. There are towels and stuff in here, right?" he asked, pointing to the small closet next to him. I confirmed it with a nod, and he nodded back before shutting the door in my face. Well, how was that for appreciative? I was making him pancakes, wasn't I? Well, if we had any batter left, that is...

* * *

It was much later that Sasuke emerged from the bathroom, entering the kitchen with dripping hair, which left the top of his shirt soaked. He sniffed the air. "You burned them?"

"Only the first few batches!" I cried, gesturing to the large stack of blackened pancakes. "I started getting the hang of it after that." I then gestured to the smaller stack of pancakes that look relatively edible. "But we're almost out of milk... and pancake mix." He rolled his eyes and picked a plate out of the cabinet above my head, reaching around me to grab a few of the flat objects and a fork.

"We forgot syrup," he murmured, choosing not to comment on my obviously-lacking cooking skils. I nodded.

"Yeah, and after all this trouble on _my part._ That sucks," I complained, emphasizing the fact that he'd clearly been avoiding since we got back from the store: that _I_ was the one doing all the work! I never cooked _anything;_ this was a big deal for me!

"Yeah, yeah, stop whining," he drawled, flicking me on the nose as he moved toward the living room to take a seat in front of the TV. With an irritated sniff, I collected my own breakfast and moved to join him. When he noticed my bad mood, he looked up with a mouth full of pancakes and asked, "What's got you so pissy?"

"Teme," I insulted him before digging into my own food.

At around two that afternoon, I got a call from Itachi on the house phone asking if Sasuke ever planned on coming home. Shortly thereafter, I shooed Sasuke from my house, encouraging him by saying that he could put up with his brother for a few short hours today and that school was the next day. He frowned but agreed, bidding me farewell with a relatively awkward hug sort of thing, and I smiled at the gesture. He really had come to terms with himself, hadn't he? And it only took one blowjob to do it.

Haha.

Anyway, after he left, I spent most of the day playing Grand Theft Auto; our gaming session the night before had rekindled my love for the game, and it kept my mind off the dismal fact that the next day began a new week full of waking up early and actually doing things that required intelligence. I mean, I couldn't even make pancakes right!

My thoughts began to wander to Sasuke's impromptu visit again and again. Why had he come over in the first place? Something about Itachi and Deidara fooling around. Why did he hate her so much? She actually seemed really nice to me, as well as smart and, uhh, yes, rather _fucking insanely hot._ Although, he was... actually gay, right? So he probably didn't care all that much. Well, whatever. It was still no reason to hate her.

Was it because Sasuke hated Itachi, and Deidara made Itachi happy? Now, that just seemed plain mean. I didn't quite understand Sasuke's hatred for his brother, but even that wouldn't lead to him caring about what Itachi's _girlfriend _was like, right? And he'd seemed more pissed at Deidara than anybody else when he'd come over last night. So... what could his problem with her be?

Suddenly, it dawned on me. He thought Deidara was some kind of whore, right? So... if he thought she was going to leave Itachi... or was using Itachi for some reason...

Oh. Hahaha. I couldn't believe it; it was because Sasuke cared about Itachi! That had to be it! He was worried Itachi would get hurt, and it infuriated him every time he saw them together! That was funny.

He'd kill me painfully and without remorse if I ever voiced these thoughts, but yes, it was funny. And kind of cute, too.

* * *

_I'm just a little bit caught in the middle_

_Life is a maze, and love is a riddle_

_I don't know where to go_

_Can't do it alone_

_I've tried and I don't know why_

_-_Lenka,_ The Show_

_

* * *

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**A/N: YAY! *claps hands* They made pancakes!**

**Sasuke doesn't hate Itachi!**

**Old ladies like prune juice!**

**This is cause for celebration... :D party at my place! All you guys have to do is find it...**

*******sigh* so... I've noticed my review count dropping... which, you know, isn't a huge deal, but... you see... I LIKE reviews... :) So, click that little button?**


	10. It's a Strange Sort of Love

**A/N: As I am lazy, I did not proofread this chapter particularly well... please point out the 532508 spelling errors that I'll only noticed _after_ I've posted this T_T**

**Ah, I am so happy! I got 11 reviews last chapter - looks like my review count is up again! Because I'm awesomely OCD like that, I like to have a ratio of at least 10 reviews to 1 chapter... though I'm not gonna complain about more *innocentplz***

**Oooh~ what could happen this chapter? Well, I think I'll open it up with some hallway cuteness...**

* * *

Chapter 10

**Naruto Point of View**

When Monday finally rolled around, I was barely able to contain myself. I mean... this would be me and Sasuke's first day at school as... well, as 'boyfriends', I suppose, and I was nervous. I mean, yeah, it would be a secret and all, but... would it be awkward when I saw him? Would he wanna talk? Maybe not. Maybe we would just go about school like normal, but knowing that we were in a relationship... but wouldn't that make things weird? Or would it just make us feel kind of smug, knowing that we had a wonderful secret we couldn't tell anyone else? Guess I wouldn't find an answer until I actually _saw_ him. I was was pretty apprehensive, to say the least.

I pulled up in the parking lot to find it packed, but nobody was in sight. I was always late on Monday, and I could never seem to correct that little flaw. Oh, well. Either way, it only meant that I'd missed an opportunity to come into contact with the solemn Uchiha.

Er, was it _my _solemn Uchiha? Hm. I rather liked that.

Homeroom and first period were boring. Homeroom consisted of reading, like it always did. First period, there was a documentary on migration because we had a sub. Wow, this day was already fantastic. However, when I got to second period, that's when things started getting interesting. Mr. Asuma decided to send me to another classroom to pick up papers, because the printer in his room was broken and the school hadn't gotten him a new one. That, in itself, wasn't really that interesting, I guess. What _was _interesting was the person I ran into in the hallway.

Yep, you guessed it. A dark-eyed bastard like no other named Uchiha Sasuke.

I barely had time to step out of the way when he rounded the corner, but fortunately, we managed to avoid another collision like the one in the grocery store. "What are you doing, you idiot?" he demanded. "Cutting class?"

"No!" I defended, already irritated. Was he still going to be annoying? Ugh. "I'm running an errand for Asuma! You're not cutting class, of course, are you? No, then you might make a B on a test, heaven forbid!" He stared at me for a long moment.

Finally, he muttered, "That was a really terrible comeback." I scowled.

"Yeah, well... anyway, what are you doing here?" I asked, tempted to stamp my foot. Damn Uchiha. Why had I been excited to see him again?

"Running an errand, just like you," he replied calmly. Suddenly, I noticed the way he was glancing from left to right suspiciously. What... was he trying to avoid my eyes? But... why? Or... ugh, I didn't know! Had I pissed him off or something, or—

Out of the blue, he breathed a sigh of... was that relief? What was that about? And then he jerked me forward and wrapped an arm around me, crushing my smaller form against his chest. I smelled tomatoes. Always tomatoes with him. Anyway, I suddenly remembered why I was excited to see him earlier. Mmm... Sasuke. I grinned; his embrace was warm and inviting, and I was still tired, considering it was still pretty early. He would probably make a really awesome pillow sometime. I'd have to try that out, if... hrm, naughty thoughts. Yeah.

"How was the rest of your weekend?" he asked, tilting his head upward so that he could rest his chin on top of my messy hair.

"Mmn... good," I answered, smiling to myself. And then a thought crossed my mind. "Sasuke!" I suddenly cried in a harsh whisper. "What happened to _this_," I jabbed him in the chest before jerking my thumb toward myself. "Being a secret? We're _at school_, dumbass!" I hated to admit it, but I sort of didn't want people to know about us, either. I mean, what would they think? I'd probably lose some friends, maybe even a lot of them! Why was he suddenly being so careless?

Seeming to ignore my protests, he just pushed me away slightly and smiled. "I'm glad it was good. So was mine, since you were kind enough to ask." He rolled his eyes. "And, stupid," he added, "we're in the middle of second period. Nobody's out here but you and me, relax." Oh, yeah. Guess he'd thought about that, and now that I realized it, I felt a little dumb. Right, everyone else was in class.

"Alright," I conceded. "As long as you're okay with this."

"Well... of course," he replied, sounding a little confused. "As long as nobody else knows, it's okay." He fixed me me with an odd look. "Are _you_ not okay with it?"

"What?" I asked. "Well, of course I am, I just... if anybody _did_ find out, you know... I'm not sure how it would go, 'kay?" I winced, sure he'd be glaring at me if I dared look up at him. Instead, all I heard was a heavy sigh.

"You're the one who asked me to..." he trailed off. Well, apparently he had trouble saying it, too. That made me feel better, for some weird reason. "To be your... uhh... boy... friend," he finished grandly. I almost smirked.

"I can't say it, either," I confessed. He grinned nervously.

"Yeah..."

A moment passed in silence, and finally I said, "Well, Asuma's gonna wonder where I am if I take too much longer, so..."

He hooked two fingers under my shirt collar, and before I knew what was happening, his lips were on mine. I inhaled sharply, but soon melted against him, pressing on my toes so that he didn't have to bend down so far. Man, I made it sound like he towered over me. Well, whatever, I didn't have time to be thinking about it; my mind was otherwise occupied, namely with the concept of Sasuke's smooth, pale lips.

He broke away all too soon. What? Aww, now I was disappointed. He winked slyly and began to turn. "I need to go, too. Seeya at lunch, dobe!" he called as he walked away in the direction I had come from. I watched him travel down the hall, a tiny spring to his step, which amused me to no end. Sasuke was... happy, it seemed. Happier than he'd been in a while, even if he still upheld his cool demeanor. I smiled to myself; it was because of me. That sounded selfish, but I also knew it was true. I made Sasuke happy, and he did the same for me. I just hoped that, when the time came, everyone else would be able to realize and accept it.

* * *

Well, damn. Way to kill my buzz, Sai. I'd been looking forward to lunch that day. This is, until Sai stopped me in the hallway to talk, which normally wouldn't be a problem. The issue today was, he decided to ask me _why,_ exactly, I'd been kissing Sasuke in the hallway this morning. Frozen, I now stared into his cold eyes, wondering how on earth he could have known. "W-wha?" I stammered. He frowned.

"I saw you two on my way in. I was late because I had a dentist appointment, and I was just passing by when, to my _horror, _you're over there making out!"

"We weren't making out!" I denied, embarrassed. I was kinda angry, but then I remembered what poor Sai must be feeling... after all, he liked me, and I was off with another guy. So, now, he knew that even though I was definitely capable of... liking guys, I'd picked somebody else. It must be hell. "Look, Sai, man," I started, placing a gentle hand on his shoulder. "I didn't mean for this to happen, but... I mean, Sasuke and I are sort of..."

"Together?" he offered.

"Yeah, we're together. And I'm really sorry..."

He nodded, and I noted the way his thin lips trembled very slightly, though I could tell that he was trying to repress it. He was doing a pretty damn good job, too; guess those years of having virtually no emotions payed off in situations like this? "It's... alright..." he murmured sadly.

"No, it's not," I disagreed, shaking my head. "You're hurt." The silent question was there; what could I do for him?

"Yeah, but I knew I would be," he replied. Now I was confused. "I actually... pushed Sasuke in your direction once," he muttered bitterly. My eyes widened in surprise.

"You... really?"

"Yeah," he laughed hollowly. "I can barely remember why. Something about how it made you happy." Aww... now that was just awesome. If I'd been in his position, I totally wouldn't have done anything like that. Sai was a really good guy.

I smiled warmly at him. "Thanks, Sai," I told him, patting his shoulder.

"Are you and Sasuke happy together?" he asked suddenly. I was caught a little off guard.

"Yeah, we are," I answered slowly. His eyes looked sad and distant, but his lips were twisted into a smile that was only half-fake. "Look, Sai," I said. "You're an amazing person." He grinned as I said that. "Someday, you're gonna find the perfect guy. Somebody much better than me. I mean, really, I've been kind of a little shit since all this Sasuke junk started," I laughed. "You're the best friend a guy could ask for, but you should move on." He nodded, seeming unsure, before smiling widely, still sad and a hollow look in his eyes.

"Thanks, Naruto," he said softly. I nodded; it was all I could think to do. After all, I knew he was terribly upset by this... but he was trying.

"Of course." Suddenly, a I remembered something. "Oh!" I cried. "Can you keep me and Sasuke's... 'thing' a secret?" I asked.

"Sure," he said as he turned toward the cafeteria, nodding. I smiled.

"Alright, thanks." We walked to lunch side-by-side. Things weren't back to normal, by any means... but we could pretend.

* * *

The rest of that day, as well as Tuesday and Wednesday, were pretty great overall. Sasuke and I flirted sneakily in the hallways, Ino and Shikamaru coupled out, and Kiba and Hinata got caught cutting class to hang out on the roof, which sort of shocked me – up until then, Hinata had been a model student. Hah, so Kiba was already corrupting her? Way to go, dog boy.

Sai and I rekindled the friendship the between us, albeit, it was pretty fragile. I had to be very careful about the way I acted around him and Sasuke at the some time; if I got a little _too_ close to Sasuke, Sai would continue smiling and talking, but that distant look would be in his eyes, like Sai wasn't there anymore. He retreated inside himself so he wouldn't have to see, and what I got was a pale, skinny Sai-bot. I hoped that wouldn't be the case forever, but at the moment, that was simply the way things were, and I had to be careful of it.

Speaking of Sai, I relayed my encounter with him to Sasuke when he came to hang at my apartment that Monday afternoon. Sasuke was alright with it at first, but when he started noticing that people gave him not idolizing stares, but alienating ones, and saw the way that their whispers, poorly-hidden behind flat-palmed hands, were sufficiently lacking in giggles from the girls, but overflowing sneers from the guys, he began to get a little suspicious. I ensured him that Sai wouldn't have said anything, but secretly, I wasn't so sure. Was his contentment a facade? Did he tell others? I didn't think he was that kind of guy, but jealousy could make people do crazy things. Wait, what was I thinking? Sai was my friend! He even pushed me and Sasuke together! He wanted me to be happy.

...Right?

When, finally, I concluded that I couldn't ignore the issue any longer, I decided to confront him Thursday morning about it. These hostile confrontations needed to stop between the two of us, but this one couldn't be avoided. The day before had been rather odd for me, as well; weird looks and the like all around, except from my regular crowd. "Sai!" I called as I saw him crossing the parking lot in the chilly morning air. "Sai, let's talk!" He looked up, searching for the source of the voice, and, after catching my eye, he nodded, crossing the lot toward me.

"Look, Naruto, I think people are catching on to your... secret," he murmured, swallowing and glancing away awkwardly as he said it. "They're... talking."

I fixed him with a stare. "Did you tell anyone, Sai?" I asked,voice soft but tone firm. He shook his head vehemently.

"No! I promise, I didn't tell a soul... do you think anyone else saw you the other day?" he asked, scratching his chin in thought, just the way he did when he paused in the middle of a drawing. I shrugged uncertainly, looking at the pavement.

"I... dunno. What if someone did? And how big is the rumor?"

"Well, yesterday, it was only the people in our grade, but I don't know how far it'll spread by the end of toda-"

"_Our whole grade?"_ I practically shrieked, attracting the attention of many students crossing the parking lot. I ducked my head, embarrassed, and continued in a whisper. "Our whole grade was talking, and nobody thought to tell us? _You_ didn't think to tell us?"

He waved his hands defensively. "N-no, it's just that I was afraid of how you'd react, is all!" he insisted, shaking his head 'no'. I scowled.

"Damn it. There goes the 'keep it a secret' thing," I cursed, kicking the pavement in anger. "How the hell did we manage to mess it up only _five freakin' days _into it?" I asked the universe. It didn't seem to have an answer for me, because nothing changed. "Sasuke's gonna be so pissed..."

"I... wish I could help," Sai mumbled, glancing to the side awkwardly. "I just don't know how to reverse it."

"No, no," I sighed, tilting my head up and staring at the still-gray morning sky. "There's no point now. I'll talk to Sasuke, but... ask around, okay? See what people are saying. And _make sure it doesn't spread anymore!"_ He nodded.

"Yeah, of course!"

I sighed again, relatively discouraged, but I looked up and gave him a small smile, anyway. "Thanks, Sai. I owe you _another_ one." I was really in debt with this guy now; we needed to hang after school sometime so I could pay him back. If that was possible, that is; he'd done so much more than it would be fair to expect that nothing I could really do would make it equal.

"Don't worry about it," he told me, taking on an exaggerated New-Yorker accent. I smirked and turned, gesturing for him to follow me toward the school.

* * *

Now that I'd confirmed that a rumor about Sasuke and me was going around, I was really taking notice of the way people were talking. Either that, or it had just gotten worse; it seemed like everyone was giving me a skeptical glance as I passed them on the way to my locker. I was lucky enough to be at a school where people generally accepted the gay or bi population, and when somebody came out or was outed, it was a normal source of talk, but not to this extent. Could this all be because Sasuke was involved?

I was left in the dark until lunch. When I walked into the cafeteria, I made a beeline for Sasuke out of habit, who was crossing the spacious room alone, for once. As I neared him, there was practically a collective gasp from the junior student body. "Sasuke!" I called, ignoring them. He didn't reply; didn't even turn around! What was going on? "Sasuke, you okay?" I asked as I joined him at his side, finally catching up to him completely. He stopped suddenly and turned to glare at me.

"Get away from me," he commanded, voice sharp.

"I... what?"

"Get away! Leave me alone!" he commanded, shaking off the confused hand that I placed on his arm before retaking his stride and moving on without a second glance. I followed.

"Sasuke, what the hell is your problem?" I demanded, sufficiently pissed. There he goes, being his old bastard self again. Damn it! As soon as people start talking, he wants to toss me aside? Not on my watch! He didn't acknowledge my question. As he stepped into the lunch line, I moved behind him, glaring. Although the look surely didn't have the massive effect of the Uchiha Glare, I was hoping something would be accomplished. "Teme!" I practically shouted at him. A couple of heads turned toward us. "Look at me!"

"What?" he asked, short and biting.

"Whaddaya mean, 'what'? You know damn well what, bastard!" I raged as I grabbed a plastic tray. "People start talking, and you're just gonna throw me away? What, like trash? Like an old toy? Is it not fun to play anymore now that you got in trouble? Well that's just fucking great! Just fantastic! But you know what, Uchiha? You're not gonna get anywhere with that, because if you think you're gonna shake me off that easily, you—!"

His hand suddenly clamped over my mouth. "Shut. _Up._ Idiot!" he hissed, enunciating each word clearly. "You wanna scream at me? Fine. Not here. You're causing a scene, Naruto, and if you think that's the way to get me in a good mood, you're really, _really _confused." I glared but nodded, and he slowly took his hand away from my mouth, revealing my deep frown and slightly flushed cheeks. Well over half the cafeteria had been watching our little argument, and I just waved, not knowing what else to say. When they continued to stare, my frown deepened.

"Do you people not have anything better to do than watch us?" I asked. "It's lunch, talk to your friends or something, don't stare at other people." They all quickly turned back to their friends, the low murmur erupting into a flood of conversation laced with gossip and speculation. Freaking nosy people. I didn't fail to notice the dejected and grief-stricken faces of the Uchiha Sasuke Fan Club members, either.

I followed Sasuke to a mostly-empty table, and he stared at me for a long time, eyes holding a million confusing emotions that his face didn't show. Finally, he sighed. "Sorry," he muttered, casting his glance downward. "I didn't mean to act like that... but, you know, right?"

"That people... figured us out?" I asked, trying to be gentle. It must really suck to be him; he'd tried for so long to keep himself in the closet, and as soon as he'd allowed himself to have any freedom, his cover was totally blown. He nodded.

"Was it Sai?" he inquired, though he sounded like even he didn't really think the pale artist had done something so terrible. I shook my head.

"Nah, I asked him, and I trust him enough to believe it when he says no. Somebody else must've seen us." Sasuke nodded once more before folding his arms on the table and leaning forward, his black hair shifting as he dropped his head slightly and let out a long, quiet groan of frustration. I frowned, unsure how to comfort the boy next to me. Finally, I sighed and simply leaned against him, placing my head on his shoulder.

"What are you doing?" he asked, though his irritated tone lacked conviction. He sounded defeated more than anything else.

"Making you feel better, jerk," I told him sadly. "Because I know this isn't what you wanted."

He was silent for a long while, and we stayed like that, me leaning on his slumped form, my head on his shoulder and my hand placed on the table only inches from his, oblivious to the hundreds of eyes that were instantly on us. "Thank you," he finally whispered. "Though, now, there's no way we can pretend they were just rumors, dumbass." I detected a slight teasing tone in his voice, and I lifted my head from his shoulder and looked down to see a tiny smile on his lips. I kicked him under the table.

"Whatever, not like it would've worked anyway," I told him. He nodded, and a tiny laugh escaped him. I smiled, and we sat like that for a while, his eyes still on the table, my eyes on him, both of us with a ridiculous, out-of-place grin on our faces.

Suddenly, another voice interrupted our moment. "So, it's... true, then," Shikamaru asked, his sudden presence behind us causing us both to jump. We turned to see that he wasn't alone; Ino accompanied him on his arm, and Sakura, Kiba, Lee, and Hinata were also nearby. Sai wasn't with them, but as I looked around, I caught his gaze from the other side of the cafeteria. He waved awkwardly, and I nodded in reply before turning to my other friends.

"Yeah," Sasuke answered softly. "It's... er, true."

I was suddenly aware of the hurt expression on Sakura's face. "Naru...to?" she asked softly.

"Yeah?"

"You... you didn't tell me that... that you and Sasuke were..."

I could tell that her voice trembled not only with shock, but with repressed tears. I guess that... seeing your long-time crush with one of your best friends would sort of feel like the ultimate betrayal, huh? This was potentially even worse than it was with Sai. "Sakura... I... I didn't mean to," I choked out, trying to say so much more.

She stared at me for a long time, and the emptiness in her large green eyes cut me deeper than I though possible as she whispered the sad, lost words, "I know."

She suddenly gasped as a tear rolled down her cheek, and she ran off, escaping the cafeteria before I could see how sad she was. Sakura... was a good friend. And now I felt like shit.

"Ah... Sakura-san!" Lee called after her. "Sakura!" He took off after her, and I frowned, feeling guilty. It was usually _me_ who comforted Sakura after she ran off... and I couldn't do that this time.

Ino broke the silence after a while. "Well, I guess... I guess this is great!" she said, her tone sounding nervous, though her words were sincere. "I'm really happy for you guys, but I have to say that it's a surprise."

Shikarmaru turned to her. "Are you serious?" he asked. "I totally saw this coming. That blond idiot has been mooning over Sasuke for weeks." When everyone, Sasuke and I included, jumped a little, he snorted. "_Please_ don't tell me that I'm the only one that noticed!"

"Well... kind of," Hinata replied in her soft, tender voice. "Shikarmaru, you notice things that most people don't, anyway." He rolled his eyes but didn't say anymore, though I swore that I saw him mouth the word, 'honestly...'

"I'm... well, Naruto, you..."

I looked to Kiba, who had spoken next. "Yeah?" I asked.

"You're... a fag?" Then he smiled, coming up to punch me lightly on the shoulder.

"Hey!" I protested. "Don't be a jerk about it!" I knew he was only teasing, though.

"And I always knew about _you_, Uchiha," he muttered, turning his keen gaze on Sasuke.

"Huh?" the black-haired boy in question asked.

"Well, with a million girls on your tail all the time, I figured you either had to be a homo or just totally asexual!" Kiba then started laughing, and Ino, Shikamaru, and Hinata joined in. Slowly, I laughed too, grinning at Sasuke.

"That's the same thing I said!" I told my – wait, my? Guess that worked – grumpy Uchiha, and he just glowered.

"Shut up, _dobe_," he growled.

"So you guys are all cool with this?" I asked, a little amazed. They nodded.

"Of course."

"Yeah."

"No reason not to be."

"I just hope Sakura's okay..."

Ino's voiced concerns wiped the hopeful grin from my face. "Damn it!" I muttered. "Sakura!" Without another word to any of them, I stood up and made my way for the cafeteria door. As the hinges swung the wooden barrier closed behind me, I shifted my gaze from left to right. Seeing no sign of either Sakura or Lee, I simply turned to the left and headed in that direction down the hall.

Only a moment or two passed before I heard a soft sniffling sound and a soft, wavering voice. "Lee... he... I know he didn't mean to, but... to me, Sasuke was...!" Oh, God. Sakura was talking about me. I followed the sound and peeked my head around the corner, peering into the adjacent hall. Sakura was curled against the wall, he face buried in her tightly-drawn knees, and Lee was kneeling next to her, rubbing a circle on her back and hushing her gently.

"Sakura-sa—er, Sakura," he mumbled. "You... uhh... is there anything I can do to make you feel better?" I slowly pulled my head back around the corner, hoping to remain unnoticed, and, despite my knowledge that it was sort of sleezy, continued to eavesdrop. I wanted to know how badly I'd hurt Sakura.

"N-nothing, Lee," she replied. "I just... it's not like I could have been with Sasuke anyway, since he's apparently g-ga...g..."

I couldn't blame her for choking on the word; it was sometimes even hard for me to say. Lee's voice sounded, soft but comforting. "Sakura... it'll be alright. You and Sasuke will be friends, which is more than you were before, and you're going to meet somebody... somebody amazing who will take your mind off that crush in an instant." I knew he was struggling not to say anything about how he was available – that's just the kind of thing Lee would normally do – and I smiled just a little. He was doing it right; getting through to Sakura, I mean. If he kept this up, she might finally see how perfect he was for her.

"Thank you... Lee..."

There was a soft shifting of clothes, and my curiosity got the better of me. I looked once more around the corner and was shocked but somewhat happy to see them in a tight embrace. Sakura would probably be alright, and she and Lee were much closer than they were before, thanks to this exchange. I grinned jut a little sadly, still feeling guilty for hurting Sakura, but glad that she had someone there to help her through it.

* * *

**Sasuke Point of View**

I dropped the two Aspirin on my tongue before taking a deep drink from my glass of water. Freaking AP history homework; it was giving me a headache. I glanced up at the clock – 9:02 p.m. - and sighed. I'd started the work almost an hour ago. I decided that I had officially reached 'Break Time'.

Or, I guess not.

At the _very moment_ I'd fallen against the comfortable, plush sofa, which was _oh so_ inviting... my stupid brother had to call me into the other room. Damn it. I pushed myself up with a groan, calling, "This better be quick!" As I entered the kitchen, I noticed that Itachi had an all-too-relaxed grin on his face – the fake kind. He was about to deliver some news he knew I wouldn't like. "What do you want?" I asked as I sat across the table from him, arms folded and gaze averted.

"Just wanted to see what was up. You haven't talked to me much recently – how are things between you and Naruto?" he asked, tone friendly but emtpy.

"Fine," I replied shortly. "We're together now." He already knew I was gay, didn't much matter if he knew Naruto and I were an item, too.

"Oh!" he exclaimed. A warm grin spread across his face. "That's really great, Sasuke."

"Hn."

A moment of silence passed between us. Finally, "Alright, Sasuke, there was another reason I called you in here."

"No shit?" I asked sarcastically, bending down to place my chin on the table and bury it in my crossed arms. He rolled his eyes in exasperation.

"Look, I'm going to... I'm going to ask Deidara to marry me."

Wait, _what? _What... the fuck? He was... he was _that_ serious about... about such a fucking... such a slut? Such a whore? No... it couldn't be true, he...

"No..."

He turned an apologetic, pleading gaze toward me. "Sasuke..."

I stood up quickly, jumping away from the table. "God damn it, you can't!" I shouted, pushing my chair in with much more force than necessary, rocking the table. "Don't!" With that, I turned and half-walked, half-ran to my room, slamming the door behind me.

I was helplessly weak. The dry sobs that wracked my body as I threw my fist against the wall left me feeling vulnerable and empty. He was really going to... to ask that horrible... horrible slut to marry him? Had I... let this happen? No, no I... but I couldn't help but feel like I should be able to stop this somehow. She was using him. She would break his heart, and I... I just... couldn't believe it. He was really _that_ much of an idiot?

Why did this bother me so much, anyway? I mean, it was his own frigging problem, but... and... I sighed and dismissed the thought. There was too much on my plate as it was.

I mulled around in my room for a long time, a blank look on my face. I drifted back and forth from the window to my bed, simply sitting and staring and scowling as the thought of what was coming occasionally registered in my mind, instead of simply loomed just beyond of my grasp. Finally, at around ten, I came out of my daze. There was no way I could stay at my house. Without a second thought, I began to pack for Naruto's.

I threw my stuff together quickly and quietly and slipped out the back door without a problem – Itachi would figure it out eventually; telling him would only decrease my chances of getting away from all this crap. Thank God Itachi had done a shitty job parking and I'd had to park my car on the street – if it had been in the driveway, he would have heard it starting up. Thankfully, the distance between my car and my house made it unlikely that I'd be caught that much sooner.

I don't remember much about the drive, other than the fact that I was focusing every last ounce of my attention on not thinking of Itachi and Deidara. Somehow, I finally came to the apartment building, and I wasted no time in heading up the stairs, trudging down the hall to his door, and knocking loudly, not caring if I disturbed anybody with such a loud sound so late. I heard a, "Yeah, I'm coming!" called grumpily from inside, and Naruto opened the door a crack and peered out. His eyes widened in recognition, and, most likely, the expression on my face. I must have look pretty pissed off or upset or something, because he immediately let me in.

"Sasuke? God, didn't even give me a warning this time!" he complained as I intruded on his evening, throwing my stuff down and collapsing in the same spot on the couch that I'd claimed the last time I'd shown up here uninvited. He sat beside me. "What are you doing here? That's your bag... you're spending the night again?"

I turned to look at him and gave him a simple nod. "I don't know if I've ever told you this," I began, recalling my exact words from before, "but I fucking _hate_ Deidara."

* * *

**A/N: *gasp* Sasuke! Watch the language! lol, jkjk(;**

**OHNOES! THEY'VE BEEN OUTED! Ah, but it's okay, because everyone who has speaking roles seems to be alright with it ('cept Sai and Sakura, of course)**

**Ohoho... it's nighttime... and Sasuke's at Naruto's house... *pervyplz* what could come next?**

**I'm pretty sure that there'll only be two more chapters left... what? How am I gonna pull that off? There's so much to wrap up, and a whole arc that I haven't even jumped into yet (spoilersmuch?)! Ah, but I'll do it ;) never fear!**

**Review~?**


	11. Silence

**A/N: ORZ I AM TEH WORST UPDATER EVER! ): I'm sorry! School caught up with me and, look at that - Fanfiction totally slipped my mind. DX**

**Ah but look at this lemon right hurr...**

**Disclaimer: Don't own T_T**

* * *

Chapter 11

**Naruto Point of View**

"What?" I asked, confused. This was the second time in less than a week that he'd waltzed into my apartment relatively late at night without any explanation other than "I fucking hate Deidara." Itachi and his hot... _hot_ girlfriend must've been getting pretty serious as of late.

"I just hate her, okay?" he asked incredulously, a scowl on his face. "And I hate Itachi, too, but that's not new." I was tempted to retort with a, _"no you don't! I have you figured out!"_, but something told me that saying something stupid like that wouldn't get me anywhere. Instead, I sat quietly and put a gentle hand out, resting it on the couch next to him in open invitation and remaining silent. He stared at it for a moment, face completely blank, before he grabbed my hand in his own and went back to staring straight ahead without batting an eye.

I squeezed his hand after a long pause. "Okay, so we got that much established," I murmured, half-teasing. "So tell me _why_, exactly, you hate them." His brow furrowed even further, and there was another emotion on his face – sadness. Just general sadness, all mixed up with frustration and confusion and even a dash of helplessness, and I sort of wanted to just reach other and brush the lines from his face, smooth away that sadness and frustration, but I knew I needed to let him think.

"He's serious about her," he finally muttered.

"Itachi?"

"Yeah. And she's just a stupid whore, too. Just using him."

Now I was interested. "Why do you say that, Sasuke?" I asked. He just snorted.

"Don't condescend to me, Naruto. I can hear it in your tone that you think I'm being overdramatic. I'm being serious – she's using him, it's _not_ just me grabbing at things to say about her." I could hear the hurt behind the agitation, and so I simply shut up and nodded. He continued.

"Well, about a year ago, Deidara was living happily with her boyfriend, Sasori. Sasori was a pretty cool guy, for one of Itachi's friends. He had big gray eyes and a huge collection of puppets, which sort of freaked me out at first, but you know, I learned to deal with it. He actually _made_ a lot of his puppets – said it was eternal art. You should have heard him and Deidara – Dei also thought the puppet thing was a little odd, saying it wasn't 'art', and it eventually turned into their ongoing lover's spat. Dei blew it way out of proportion, as expected, but he always managed to win every time they argued. Sasori was actually one of the few people I looked up to.

"Anyway, he was driving home from work one day, and it was raining. Long story short, he was hit by a car, and... and he died. It was almost instant, the doctors said. Broke his neck, you know. Deidara was a wreck for months, always sobbing and shit. Got on my nerves _so_ bad. She and Itachi hadn't gotten along too well before then, but Itachi felt he should keep checking up on her, making sure she didn't try to commit suicide or anything like that. Eventually, they got to where they are today." I smiled; it sounded tragic, yet sweet at the same time.

"That's the problem, though," he explained, crossing his arms over his chest. "Sasori and Deidara were together for _five years_ – since before Itachi even knew Sasori. She can't possibly have gotten over him so quickly. I would understand if she were _dumped_ or something – when you get dumped, it sucks, but you supposedly realize that it meant you weren't meant to be anyway, right? Well, Sasori died – he freaking _died_ – and she's already fine and happy?" I thought about it. What Sasuke said _did_ sorta make sense. If Sasori was just ripped away from her for no apparent reason, and they were both supposedly in 'love', then... it would be difficult to bounce back so fast.

"She's using Itachi as a desperate rebound. She feels like the universe fucked with her and just needs to know that somebody likes her, despite whether or not she actually likes them back. My brother was just there when she decided that that was the case." With a note of finality, he 'humphed' and settled further into the couch. I looked closer at his stony face and noted the hundreds of emotions flashing behind his eyes. I hesitated for a moment, then slowly leaned closer and pressed my lips to his from the side. He gasped a little and tensed.

"What are you doing?" he asked when I pulled back. I shrugged.

"You seemed really... just kinda distraught. I'm your b-boy... boyfriend, right?" I'd finally gotten the word out. _Wow _that had been awkward. "I'm supposed to make you feel better, and, well, that felt like the right thing to do." I let a quirky grin take hold of my face and scrunched my shoulders up. Suddenly, two warm palms were on my cheeks, and a quiet laugh echoed throughout the room. It was coming from Sasuke, and as I looked at him, I saw that he wore a tiny grin.

"How do you do that?" he asked, sounding somewhat bewildered.

"What?" I inquired innocently. "I dunno what I did..."

"I'm so lucky," he said, clearly stating each word. "I'm so lucky to have you. Today has been shit, and yet, you make me smile. I'm so... lucky..."

As he spoke, he inched closer, and I felt a blush coming to my cheeks. As his last word drifted off, the breath from his speech lingered on my lips, a warm incentive to tilt my head just the littlest bit and relax... perhaps even submit...

His soft, pale lips, which had become so familiar, pushed against mine with subtle force, the kiss silent and sweet, and his slow embrace, which curled around me as he turned his body and removed his hands from my cheeks, was as comforting as ever. I allowed my own hand to sneak over his shoulder as I turned more, and our sweet kiss turned hot as I grasped at his hair. He quickly moved again, this time to take firmer hold of my shirt and pull himself toward me. His mouth opened slightly, and I parted my lips in turn to allow his tongue to push its way in toward my own. There was little poking and prodding on his part; he went straight for my tongue with his, evoking a shallow groan from me – I hadn't expected such directness, and it brought forth a strange passion in me. My grip strangled his smooth locks of black hair and I reciprocated forcefully.

The kiss was slow, but passionate, and picked up speed at a gradual pace until we were wrestling with each others limbs and hair and clothes, and suddenly shirts were gone and many more kisses had been shared and stolen and I didn't even have time to wonder if the moans and gasps would keep the old lady next door awake because next thing I knew, Sasuke's hand was wandering toward my pants.

"Sasuke!" I gasped, taking firm hold of his ambitious fingers. "Are you... what are you doing?"

"Don't act so surprised," he whispered, his breath hot against my cheek. "I told you that I was going to get even, didn't I?" I flushed even darker than I already was, if possible, and he pressed a kiss to my cheek. I could feel his lips curved into a mischievous smirk. His fingers slowly slunk the button out of its hole on my jeans as we kept our mouths occupied, and my zipper was unfastened next. Well, I wasn't about to let him take advantage of me like that – I wouldn't simply submit. I removed my fingers from around his waist, and instead used them to begin working at his own jeans. He felt it, and attacked my mouth more voraciously with his tongue, leaning me down against the couch and crawling on top of me.

I gasped quickly as I felt the cool touch of his fingers on the warm skin just beneath the hem of my boxers, then promptly moaned, falling limp at the sensation. His hands were there, in a place that was forbidden, and it felt _so_ good. A shudder of arousal passed through his body into mine, and it was then that I first took note of my rapidly-forming boner. As I continued to work at his zipper, the shifting in fabric beneath my hands, indicating that something was pushing against the inside of his pants, told me that he, too, was substantially excited by all of this.

"Sasuke," I whispered as he pulled away.

"Hn?"

"How... far..."

He stopped, pausing his hands, which has slowly been moving downward toward my length. He stared into my eyes for a moment. "Until you stop me." Before I had time to do so much as nod, he shifted, and began biting at my neck. I groaned and rolled my head, my hips bucking upward involuntarily. His tongue and teeth, nipping and toying with the soft skin of my neck, combined with his hands at my crotch... it was beyond intoxicating. He suddenly bit harder, and I... wait. No. I had _not_ just... was that a _whimper?_ I _whimpered?_ I didn't have much time to think about that, however, because I felt another one pressing against my closed lips. I... whimpered once more, which steadily escalated into a moan as his fingers found their way to my manhood, stroking lightly up and down my stiff length. He pulled my boxers all the way down, to join the jeans that were wrinkled haphazardly at my thighs, and I, somehow, through the erotic, deafening haze of passion, found a way to remove his, as well.

Slowly, his hands left my length, to my slight disappointment. Though, as he sucked vigorously at my neck, I found that I had no voice to complain with – the only sounds I could make at his point were tiny gasps and sharp, short exclamations in the back of my throat. They only increased as I realized that his hands were now occupied by toying with my erect nipples.

The pleasure coursing through my body was unbelievable. It might possibly be more wonderful than Sasuke's flushed face and lithe form squirming under me as _I_ played with _him._ The thought only got me more worked up, and I bucked my hips once again, this time accidentally grinding them harshly against Sasuke's. I response, he lowered his midsection and returned the favor, his hands leaving my nipples now to revisit my erection, though not without teasing me as they slowly trailed down my abdominals, leaving tickling sensations behind them. Just as his fingers once again found my throbbing erection, his mouth was open and tongue dragging down my neck in a long, sultry lick. Unable to contain a long, deep moan, I rolled my eyes back as the sound was emitted from my mouth. He didn't stop there, though.

With a quick stop to nibble at the end of my collarbone, he shifted his body so that he could reach his head down toward my chest, and suddenly, a hot tongue was circling my right nipple playfully. I gasped and grabbed his hips, evicting a 'hn' from his throat, which irritated me. Not for long, though, because suddenly, there was a finger poking and prodding at an opening that it _certainly_ shouldn't be anywhere near.

"Sasuke!" I cried. "We're... gonna...?"

"Aren't we practically there already?" he panted in a quick breath. It was only then that I noticed the sheen of sweat that coated his perfectly-toned muscles, the bright red across his cheeks; this was taxing in the best of ways for him, as well, huh? I squirmed as a hand suddenly brushed against the end of my manhood.

"What're... you doing?" I managed to get out before another groan took hold of me as he brushed against it again.

"Well, I don't... know... ngh... about you," he murmured as I took a feisty nip at his earlobe. "But I don't carry a bottle... of... a-ah! Stop that, Na...ruto!" I smirked devilishly and ceased my minor assault on his ear and neck. "Don't carry... a bottle of l-lube around with... me... all the time. We're use... using your pre-cum," he choked out, as matter-of-factly as he could. I shrugged.

"What... ever," I told him, giving permission for him to go ahead. And, go ahead, he did; a single finger was slid into my opening almost immediately, and I inhaled sharply at the sudden foreign presence inside of me.

"Hurt?" he asked, noting the expression on my face.

"Not... so bad... yet," I assured him, though I knew it would get worse. I squinted an eye shut and cried out as a second finger joined the first, and, er, 'whimpered' a small amount as a scissoring motion widened my entrance. His eyes never left mine, and he kissed me sympathetically as he slid a third one in, causing my face to screw up in pain. I wasn't meant to stretch that far.

"I'm sorry," he murmured against my throat. I shook my head 'no'.

"Don't apologize!" I insisted in a burst of breath. "Just... do... it...!" He gave a quick nod, and suddenly, I was filled. _"Ngh!" _I hummed sharply as he entered. "Oh, God!"

"Are you okay?" he panted, to which I simply nodded jerkily, my arms now thrown over his shoulders. He pressed at the inside of my legs. "Can you go...?"

"Wider? Yeah," I said, complying. I was surprised that I could manage a coherent response at this point; the feeling of him... _inside of me_. It was beyond any pain or pleasure I'd ever experienced. It was... everything. It meant _everything_ at the moment. His moved back a little, and a shudder ran through me.

The first thrust practically sent me over the edge. He readjusted his angle and tried again, again, and again, and I hung onto him for dear life and whispered a million things I can't remember and bit my lip to keep from crying out, though another of those cursed whimpers escaped me. Finally, he hit it – my prostate. And _that_ was when I absolutely couldn't hold back any longer. I gasped and moaned, and he hit it slowly, but I wanted more than that. I wanted so much more.

"Sa...su..." I couldn't finish his name, but he understood.

"What... nah! Do... you need?"

"Fa... f-fass..."

"T-tell me," he commanded, "What you want!"

"Faster!" I screamed, and he did just that, picking up speed quickly. We were both panting hard and flushed, and if my brain had been functioning properly, I would have, without a doubt, realized that the old lady next door would be forever traumatized by the bestial, savage sounds coming from the two of us as he thrusted and I rocked and we finally came together, my sticky white seed clinging in rope after rope to his chest and the couch, his filling me and sending a warm, tingly feeling up my spine, adding to the high of my own orgasm.

As he left my inside and we lay there, gasping and panting, I forgot the world. I forgot that we had school the next day, I forgot that I'd have to solve his Itachi problems again, and I forgot that we were on a somewhat-ratty couch in a normally-lonely apartment built for one. I forgot the plain, white-washed walls and the schoolbag on the floor and the science homework that I had yet to finish, and instead, I remembered that there was a warm, pale hand somewhere very close to my own that I needed to take up. So, I did, and we curled up on that ratty couch on a seat only wide enough for one, and our arms tangled in an embrace, and our breathing lulled, and we fell into a deep, contented sleep...

* * *

I cracked my eyes open at the faint sound of my obnoxious alarm clock going off in my room, only to see Sasuke's face barely a hair's breadth from mine. Memories of the night before abruptly assaulted my mind, and I almost fell off of the skinny couch as the shock hit me. Sasuke and I had done it – we'd had _sex_. That heavy word crossed my mind, but for some reason, I couldn't feel any guilt. All I could feel was a bizarre happiness that I simply couldn't control, try as I might, and I grinned insanely as I stared at Sasuke, content with watching him sleep for now. Eventually, sleep reclaimed me, and my alarm clock's efforts proved futile.

When I awoke a second time, it was to the smell of pancakes. My nose led me to the kitchen before my eyes had fully opened, nothing but a stray blanket wrapped around my naked form. "I figured the pancake-making had best be left to me this time," Sasuke explained as he worked over the stove. "Good morning, by the way."

"Morning," I yawned, stretching. I didn't mind that I was naked; after last night, I actually couldn't care less. Apparently, though, Sasuke had at least taken the time to pull his pants on, and his shirt was haphazardly hanging from his chest – or was that my shirt? Oh, well – which I felt perverted for disliking. But... I couldn't help it! His abs were...

My train of thought luckily stopped there as Sasuke placed some pancakes in front of me; if I hadn't been interrupted, Sasuke may just have been jumped and I'd have topped in round two. Mmm... wake-up sex. Sounded hot. Anyway, I took up my fork and dug in, suddenly famished as the aroma of the warm, fluffy white pancakes swirled around me. Sasuke joined me at the counter, taking a seat on the available stool and leaning a head on my shoulder.

"I'm tired," he complained bluntly, a yawn forcing its way out of his mouth. I nodded.

"I am too. These look good."

"Better than the ones you made."

"... I did my best, gosh..."

We ate in silence for a while, occasionally glancing over at each other to exchange looks. I knew what was on his mind – it was weighing just as heavily on mine. We'd, you know, done it... so what next? Was there something we were _supposed _to do? Was this the part where we acted all fluffy and couple-y? The part where we could supposedly read into each others hearts just by glancing into the others eyes? I felt frustration begin to permeate the happy vibes between us.

Finally, I couldn't take it anymore. "Sasuke... What should we do now?" I asked, looking right at him. He stared back a shrugged after a moment's pause.

"I guess... things are about the same as they were," he mumbled. "I mean... we're together, we're happy... now we've just shown each other our l-"

He suddenly broke off, blushing. I gasped.

"You almost said it!" I shrieked, pointing an accusatory finger at him as a smile crossed my face. "You almost said the L-word!" He just snorted incoherently.

"No... no I didnt! Dobe. Tch. As if I'd say that." Then, it abruptly appeared to dawn on him that that could be taken as offensive, and he looked over, eyes wide. "I mean, not to say that I don't, but... but I... I _don't_, I mean, and... but I... gah! Shut up and eat the pancakes, dumbass!" He returned to his own food, significantly more flustered than he had been two minutes ago, and I laughed quietly as I finished my breakfast.

We eventually came to the conclusion that we should move our lazy asses and go to school. Actually, _Sasuke_ came to that conclusion, whereas I disagreed, saying that we should play sick and stay at my place. At this point, I had some clothes on, but Sasuke was quick to sidle up beside me and slide a hand down my shirt, not caring that the article was there. "Well, if you insist," he had whispered seductively. "Though, I'm not sure your little arse could handle another round." He was right; the pain in my behind had been steadily becoming more aggravating.

I had blushed and stammered out, "H-hey! What makes you so s-sure that you'd top?" However, I decided not to risk it, and migrated into the bathroom to brush my teeth and hair.

All ready for school – right on time, ten thirty in the morning – we headed out to the parking lot. "We should take my car," he suggested, and I had no complaints; my car was a wreck and his looked to be pretty fancy, after all. I crawled in behind him, admiring the clean leather upholstery and 'new car' smell, which lingered despite the fact that Sasuke had probably had this car for a pretty long time. Every time I climbed in, I was jealous.

There wasn't very much talk on the ride – I think we were both tired and simply didn't have anything to say. A lot was running through my mind, however, and I finally gave voice to one of my thoughts, which caused Sasuke to start.

"You know, it's Itachi's choice who he marries."

A long paused stretched between us, mounting the tension. Sasuke finally broke it by replying, "That... why?"

"Why do I-?" I started, only to be silence as he held up a finger.

"Why do you do that to me?" His voice sounded... weak, somehow, though there was barely a noticeable change in his tone. He continued. "Why do you tell me just what I don't want to hear?" I frowned sadly.

"Because you need to hear it."

Another long silence. Gently, he slowed the car and let his gaze drift toward mine, and I returned the look with set determination. I knew that he wanted his brother to be happy, but... the way he was going about it was wrong. "If you want him to reconsider, talk to him. Though, I think you've made your opinion pretty clear already," I suggested, and he took it with a nod. His eyes went back to the road and we didn't speak again on the way to school.

The secretary didn't seem too happy that we'd come in late, but she gave us passes to get into class anyway on account of Sasuke's good record and my apparent association with him. She grumbled something about lazy kids as she signed off on the little yellow slips, but otherwise scowled and kept her mouth shut. I whipped the excuse note out of her hands swiftly and took off with an appreciative grin, but Sasuke spared the few seconds it took to give her a proper 'thank you'. Tch. Goody two sh-

Oh God. Did I just mentally 'tch'? That damn teme was rubbing off on me! Crap!

We walked into third period quietly, me with my head ducked timidly between my shoulders; I hated how all the heads turned to stare curiously as soon as they door clicked – it made me feel like I was interrupting something sacred. I hoped that none of them noticed the slight shudder that shook my frame as I walked up to Iruka, handing him my note. Sasuke gave his to the brunette teacher as well, and we made our ways to our usual desks. It was only then that it hit me – I was used to sitting right next to _Sakura._ Things were too weird between us; this would be interesting. No, not in the good way.

I took my seat next to her. "Hey, Sakura," I smiled, trying to seem normal, but anyone with eyes could see that my pleasant demeanor was a facade to mask my worry. To my shock, she smiled back slightly.

"Hey," she murmured. I allowed my grin to widen with genuine happiness.

"Are you alright?" I asked, glancing toward Iruka to make sure our exchange had remained unnoticed. A sigh escaped her lips and she rested her chin in her hands before nodding once.

"I'm fine. It was... hard, but Lee came home with me because he was worried." A tiny giggle escaped her, to my surprise. "You should have seen my dad's face! He was completely appalled with me – imagine, his perfect daughter bringing a boy home that he'd never even met before!" Was that a tiny blush I saw on her face? Ohoho! Nice move, Lee; he had hope with her now. "I tried to explain that Lee was just a friend, but then he walked in and he was hugging me and trying to get me to see reason about you two, and he chased Lee to the front door and almost out of the house before I managed to stop him!" She laughed, and the sound was high and happy, though quiet enough to escape Mr. Iruka's attention. "But, yeah, he helped me out with kinda 'coming to terms' with the idea of giving up on Sasuke and just being happy for you two. In fact, now that I think about it, the two of you are sort of adorable together!"

I wiggled my eyebrows. "So are you and bushy brows in _love_ yet?" I asked. She already knew I was rooting for her and Lee as a couple. She swatted me on the shoulder in agitation.

"No, idiot!" she responded. "He's just a nice guy! I'm probably going to try to hang out with him more, though; all these years I've known him, and I've just been trying to push him away!" Oh, yeah, she liked him. Sakura didn't say positive things about people unless they were close friends or crushes.

"What about you?" she suddenly asked, turning the focus on me.

"What _about _me?"

She gave me a knowing look. "You were late to class today, and so was Sasuke. You both walked in at the same time; _don't_ tell me it's coincidence!" I blushed furtively, and a gleam shone playfully in her eye. "Stay up late together?" I nodded, looking down. "Make out some, hmm? _Heavily?_" Another nod and a nervous rub of my arm. "You whore, Naruto!" she exclaimed playfully. "Didn't know you guys were so serious already! It was a school night, and you guys were _alone!_" She laughed. "What's next, sleeping together?"

She waited for a response that I didn't plan on giving. As I slowly dragged my gaze up to her, she seemed to be realizing what I had implied. "Oh my God... _did_ you two sleep together?" she asked in a hushed voice.

I stared at her for a long while before answering timidly, "Uh... well, we sort of... yeah, we did."

Now, after years of knowing Sakura, I knew the things that made her squee. Anything cute, sweet, and anything hot that moved qualified as squee-worthy, apparently. What I hadn't counted on was having my and Sasuke's sex life fall into all three catagories. The cry that erupted from her as she clenched her fists lovingly to her chest drew the attention of every single confused student in the classroom, Mr. Iruka, and the teacher next door, apparently, because he came rushing in to discover the source of the high keening which was currently shattering his students' hearing.

Eventually, her squeal died down. Unabashed, she simply raised a smooth, manicured hand and said, "Sorry 'bout that. I'm done now." Iruka fixed her with an odd look before turning awkwardly and continuing class.

* * *

On the drive home with Sasuke, I noticed that he seemed even more pissed-off than usual. "What's wrong with you?" I asked, tossing a quick glance in his direction. His knuckles were white with the force he was using to grip the steering wheel, and his face was contorted into an expression of rage and helplessness. What was that word I'd heard the other day? Oh yeah – angstmuffin. He looked like an angstmuffin.

He sighed. "I got a text from him after gym."

"Who?"

"Itachi, who do you think?" he snapped. A groan escaped him. "Sorry, but... he sent me a picture... of the ring he's going to propose with. And... he said he's going to do it on their date tonight." Oh. That... was unexpected. I'd didn't realize that he'd waited so long to tell Sasuke. Well, actually, that might have been a smart move – nobody wanted to deal with this side of Sasuke longer than they had to; heck, I was even ready to be rid of the angstmuffin for a couple of days!

Well, maybe not, but whatever.

"I'm... sorry," I mumbled, not sure what else to say. We rode in silence for a while longer until we arrived at my apartment. "Do you want to come in for a few minutes?" I asked as I gathered my stuff. He nodded quietly and followed me, leaving his school bag in the car. I pulled out my key and unlocked the door, flicking my lights on as I passed through the entrance. It was as boring as ever, but a little white piece of paper caught my eye. Kakashi must have come by.

_"Dear Naruto,"_ it read. _"Ran into your math teacher on the way to meet Iruka at your school – we're getting a group together and heading to a bar tonight."_ I sneered mentally. I swear, he and Iruka had _something_ going on... which was kind of creepy, considering the brunette was my teacher._ "He said that you did an excellent job on a test of some kind? Good job :) I'm proud of you. Who did your grocery shopping? You've actually managed to acquire some health food. Amazing. No cookies this time – sorry, I... ate them :D" _I rolled my eyes. Crazy Kakashi. _"Anyway, I'll be over sometime next week to talk with you about anything else that's been going on. Hope to see you soon. -Kakashi." _I smiled to myself... but the look was wiped off my face when I read the footnote. _"P.S. Your living room smells like sex. Couch score, or just sittin' here jackin' it?"_ I groaned and blushed eight different shades of red, which Sasuke noticed, unfortunately.

"What's that?" he asked, coming up behind me. I panicked.

"N-nothing!" I squeaked. "Not a thing."

"Then let me see it.

"...what?"

"If it's nothing, let me see it; I'm curious." He reached for it. Mind racing, I did something that seemed oddly logical at the time: shoved the paper scrap into my mouth. I winced as I tried to swallow the thing, then smiled nervously at him.

"See? Nothing!" He stared at me for a long moment.

"... you're a freak, you know that?"

"Yeah..."

We wandered into the kitchen, and I plucked a pop-tart from the box and unwrapped it, eating it plain. He stole the other pastry out of the foil package and took a bite. "Will you tell me what she says?" I asked after swallowing a bite. He stared at the floor.

"Yeah," he muttered. I walked over to him and leaned against the counter. He curled an arm around my waist and hugged me, and I almost choked. That was kind of... unexpected. But nice. I guess I never really expected the displays of affection from Sasuke. "I'll give you a call as soon as I know." With that, conversation ceased, and we simply sat there, his arm curled around me as I leaned against his warmth. A few minutes passed, and eventually, he gave me one final squeeze before standing, making his way toward the door without a word. He paused with his fingers on the handle, though, and as turned his head to glance back, I saw through his eyes that his heart was heavier than I could imagine. I gave him a sad, but hopefully encouraging, smile, along with a tiny wave, and he returned the smile before slipping out.

* * *

I couldn't focus on anything all afternoon. I was too worried about Sasuke, Itachi, Deidara... that whole Uchiha lot. Or, I would assume that Deidara would soon be an Uchiha. From what I'd witnessed of their interactions, Deidara and Itachi seemed pretty crazy about each other, even if Dei came off as a little sluttish. Whatever, you know? More eye candy for us envious guys.

Just kidding, though; I'd never be jealous of Deidara, not when I had my very own Uchiha angstmuffin! The though brought a smile to my face, replacing the heavy sighs that I'd been loosing all afternoon. I looked at the clock. Okay, there was no way that it was only a quarter to six. I'd been playing Call of Duty 4 for at least 5 hours, I was sure... but, alas, it seems that, just as time flies when you're having fun, he comes to a complete standstill when you're worried and stressed. Wonderful.

Minutes ticked by. More minutes. And more. Had it not been an hour yet? _What?_ Only half an hour had gone by? How did that happen? Though, my mindless digital soldier-ing _had_ seemed to be moving in slow motion. That clock hand, though... I swear, it was moving backward. That was the only explanation.

I'd been lying in my bed, reading a book for school, for about an hour. The time was finally approaching eleven, and I'd basically given up on hearing back from Sasuke that day. Suddenly, my ringtone (yes, for once, my phone wasn't on vibrate) roused me from my readings of Siddhartha the Buddhist. Speak of the devil. No, it wasn't Buddha; it was Sasuke.

"Hello?" I asked.

"Naruto?" His voice sounded dull, empty, dead. I feared the worst.

"Are you... okay?" I asked plainly, not sure what else to say. A long silence stretched between us, during which the only sound was the crackling of the phone line as one of us breathed against the receiver. Finally, I heard him take in a breath.

"She... said yes." I didn't know how to respond. On one hand, I was really happy for Itachi; I was fond of the guy, and this would mean the world to him. On the other hand... Sasuke's case was pretty much the opposite.

"Sasuke..."

He sighed. "Look, I'm really not in the mood to talk. I'll see you tomorrow, alright?" He sounded stressed, obviously, but there was something else there, something I couldn't identify... like, he just didn't know what to do anymore...

"Are you sure you'll be alright?" I didn't want him doing any crazy emo shit while I wasn't there, you know.

"Yeah," he answered softly. Before I could get another word in, he hung up the phone, and I was left with dead, cold silence.

* * *

**A/N: OH NO SASUKE'S BEING A GRUMPY WHORE AGAIN!**


	12. Kodak

**A/N: Alright, guys, exciting news; this is the last chapter. :)**

**Hope it lives up to everyone's expectations!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto ;) sorry to disappoint.**

* * *

Chapter 12

Things fell apart. Broke. Died. It was simply a part of life. However, what was I supposed to do when my _life_ was the thing that seemed to be breaking?

Perhaps that was a bit dramatic, but... it was how things felt after that day. Sasuke was... so unhappy. All the time. It was really hard to see him like that. It felt like... he didn't want to be around _anyone,_ even me. Gaara, Neji, and I sort of followed him around, quietly keeping an eye on him to see if he was alright. He most certainly wasn't, but there wasn't much that we could do about it. I told them a little about Sasuke's family situation, as it seemed that he'd been neglecting his besties as of late, and they were both concerned, but affirmed my conclusion that this wasn't something Sasuke would want to 'talk about' or whatever.

Sai... where to begin with Sai. It was like he didn't even know who he was anymore. It was crazy, like he kept switching from laid-back-pretending-I'm-okay Sai to my-world-is-ending Sai to I'm-a-social-retard Sai to Naruto-please-love-me Sai... ugh, confusing. Too many Sais! I couldn't even keep up. I doubt he could, either.

Their were good things happening to the people around me, too, don't get me wrong. Shikamaru and Ino were quickly rising to the status of 'power couple', and they were both happier than I'd ever known them. Kiba was slowly coaxing Hinata out of her shell, and the quiet, shy girl I'd known since middle school was becoming more talkative by the day. There was actually one point where we'd had a freakin' twenty minute conversation, which was really impressive for her. Sakura and Lee were steadily growing closer, now that Sakura had given up on Sasuke, and I think that she was really starting to let Lee in a little more, get to know him better. Who knew what could transpire between them?

My happier friends were the light of my life, they kept me going. That, and my drive to fix Sasuke. I just... well, I didn't know how.

One afternoon, Sai and I were blowing off fifth to hang out at the back of the school. I'd invited Sasuke, but he'd simply huffed and half-heartedly called me and idiot for cutting class before returning to the book he was reading. That was at the end of free period. When I looked at the page number, I realized that he'd been reading and re-reading the same page over and over since the beginning of the period. I felt a little pang, but I bit my lip and turned away, followed swiftly by laid-back-pretending-I'm-okay Sai.

He offered me a stick of mint gum, which I gladly accepted. I loved the sharp feeling you got in your mouth when you inhaled after chewing something minty. For whatever reason, it always helped to clear my mind when I was feeling sort of stressed. We were quiet for several minutes before he finally spoke up.

"What are you and Sasuke... up to?"

Oh... uh. Right. Sai had probably noticed that we'd been talking less. "Well, he's got some stuff going on at home, so he's not exactly the _happiest_ he's ever been." I shrugged uncomfortably. "I guess we're just moving along the best we can, taking things as they come." He nodded.

"Things'll get better. Don't worry too much," he assured me. "Things like this have a way of working themselves out if everyone's willing to go with the flow." I nodded; that made sense, I guess.

"So," I drawled, feeling lame for having nothing to talk about. "What's going on in your life? Anything I don't know about?" He drew his jacket tighter around him.

"I've been, uh," he began. "I've been trying to, like, meet some people. It's been nice. Scary, but not so bad as I thought." I was a little shocked. Sai was... trying to see someone.

"WHAT?" I demanded, eyes going wide. "Who? Where? When? How? Huh...?" My ability to form complete sentences was, obviously, out the door.

He held up his hands. "No, no... it's nothing yet, really. I was just... so tired of being a burden on you and Sasuke. Because, you know, I guess he's not all bad. So... I figured I'd at least _try_ to find somebody else... and fix all this crap." He flushed.

I couldn't help myself. I was so... proud? Thankful? Both, I guess. Either way, I was impressed with him, and suddenly, I found myself embracing him in an (extremely manly) hug. "Oh my God, Sai," I told him. "You're the best friend a guy could have, man."

I heard an audible gulp. "Hah, I... I try."

I released him and took a step back, a smile on my face. He was grinning, too. We sort of stood there stupidly, these oddball smiles on our faces, before, suddenly, his laugh cut through the air, abruptly shattering the silence as he doubled over. I joined in. "Dude!" I gasped. "Why the hell are we laughing?"

He tried to choke down another laugh, but failed, before answering, "I... have no friggin idea! Maybe we're on weed."

I nodded. "You're right, dude. You caught me." I shook my head with a grin, happy to be participating in some lighthearted conversation for once. I'd missed our customary stupidity. I'd missed hanging with Sai. I'd missed everything... and it was nice.

"This is retarded," he informed me happily.

I sighed contentedly. "Exactly. That's what makes it awesome." Yeah, it was retarded. A comment about marijuana had finally repaired our friendship. How stupid. How great.

* * *

That afternoon was a good one, to be sure. I couldn't get rid of the happy feeling in my gut, and not even Sasuke's pessimism could get me down. Which, I suddenly remembered, I had to do something about. However, I decided that playing Doctor Phil could be put off until another day, and that I'd simply go for a temporary fix and drag him over to my house, cheer him up for a little while. It would surely be better than whatever hellhole his attitude was currently fermenting in, anyway.

"Come on, _teme_," I told him as soon as the final bell rang. He barely managed to shove all of his stuff into his bag before he was dragged out the door by a very impatient me. He didn't seem too happy about this abrupt kidnapping, either, and put up a considerable amount of fight as I forced him toward his car.

"What are you doing, dumbass?"

"Come to my apartment," I told him. "Or I'll show up at your house." He raised an eyebrow, but sighed in defeat, shrugging and huffing like it was some sort of insignificant irritation before getting into his car and grumbling about being a 'freakin hostage' or something. I ignored it and climbed into my own car, which sputtered to life as loud as always and caught the attention of basically every kid in the parking lot. Damn, I really needed a new car.

The road flew away beneath my tires, and Sasuke stuck close behind me. My apartment was exciting as ever when we entered – meaning it was a wreck, but otherwise almost unbearably plain. I rounded on him as soon as I'd managed to get a light on.

"Alright, so what exactly is your problem?" I demanded, frowning. He raised an eyebrow but was otherwise unchanged, probably already under the assumption that this was some sort of intervention. Urgh... I hated his smarts. "You've been moping around school, hardly talking to anyone," I continued, "including _me!_ I mean... God damn, Sasuke! Is your brother getting married really such a huge deal?"

He rolled his eyes at me. "If you brought me here to talk about this, I'm going," he informed me flatly. I crossed my arms in resentment, scowling.

"No, that's not the reason," I told him. "Though, if you're going to be such a jerk, maybe I'll just forget it and let you go if you want." He looked at me for a moment, then sighed, dropping his shoulders along with his gaze.

"Sorry," he muttered. "Just in a bad mood, you know. Alright, so... why _am _ I here then?" He looked around. As I said before, it looked pretty plain; it wasn't like I'd planned for this or anything. I mean, I'd just decided during school to drag him over here, anyway, so it wasn't like I'd lad anything out – though what, exactly, I'd be laying out was a mystery to me.

"Because you're such a joy to be around, I figured I'd have you over," I told him, rolling my eyes sarcastically. "But really, I'm sick of you being such a downer. We're going to do _something_ to cheer you up." He stared.

"...And what are we going to do, exactly?"

I blinked. "I didn't really think that far ahead," I confessed. He broke into a tiny smile.

"Tch. I should've expected something so dobe-ish from you."

"Hey!" I shouted in protest. "That's not fair! I let you get by with the words from other languages, but you can't start making up words or I'll never be able to keep track!" He shrugged, wearing a 'not my problem'-kind of face, and ruffled my hair as he moved past me into my kitchen. I heard the distinctive suctioning sound of my fridge being opened, and I decided I'd better get in there and make sure he wasn't stealing all my food.

As a matter of fact, when I entered, I found him rifling through the shelves and frowning to himself. "Where'd all that food we bought go?" he inquired, pushing aside the almost-empty carton of orange juice blocking his line of sight to reveal a relatively bare shelf. I grinned, patting my stomach.

"A growing man's gotta eat, Sasuke!" I explained as he let out a short grunt of displeasure and the faint sound of a growling stomach reached my ears. I smirked, and he slowly emerged completely from the fridge, holding what appeared to be a less-than-satisfying reaping of whipped cream. He shook the can a few times before turning it upside down and promptly placing the tip of the can directly on his tongue, tilting his head back as he opened wide and pressing against the nozzle. The noise of the action filled the room as he laid a long line of white on his tongue.

"Ugh," he muttered after swallowing. "I haven't done that in a _long _time; I'd forgotten how weird it felt." I nodded.

"Give me some, then," I demanded. He looked away for a minute before a keen look lit up his eyes. He returned his gaze to me with a devilish smirk on his face.

"As if, dobe. It's mine now."

I rolled my eyes. Not _this_ game again. Was he trying to get even for the pancake thing? He already had blackmail pics of me! Well, on the bright side, he seemed to be attempting to humor me and go along with the 'cheer up Sasuke' plan, which was more than I'd anticipated. I smiled.

"Fine," I crooned seductively, meandering into the living. He perked up suddenly, wondering what would suddenly motivate into taking this angle, and followed to find me sprawled on the couch, an open invitation. "If I can't have the can, at least let me taste it."

He raised an eyebrow. "What?"

I rolled my head and grinned, none-too-discreetly tugging up the edge of my shirt to reveal some of my stomach and shifting into (what I hoped was) an alluring pose. "I'm sure _you_ still taste like it, Sasuke. All people eat whipped cream for is the flavor, anyway."

His eyes grew round as saucers, but after a second or two passed in silence, he grinned back. "Whatever, dobe." With that, he crept over to the couch, clambering on top of me quickly. "You asked for this." With that, he sealed out lips. His tongue crept into my mouth, and I gave in much too quickly. It felt odd, allowing myself to be held so utterly powerless, to not even put up a fight before backing into submission. However, he seemed to prefer dominant position, and I didn't care much either way, so wasn't it better like this if I were trying to lift his gloomy mood?

I smiled; I really could taste the whipped cream. He lapped at my tongue with his as he placed a hand at my hip, and I, in turn, allowed my mouth to be ravaged, hooking one arm around Sasuke's shoulder. I wasn't sure how much time passed that way; it just sort of melded together, but I knew it'd been several minutes, at least. Suddenly, the shuddering click of a key in a lock resonated from the front door, causing us to pull apart, startled, and leaving us able to do nothing but stare and wait to be caught.

The door creaked open painstakingly slowly, but I knew the visitor before his face was revealed; the silver hair glinting in the afternoon sunlight gave him away. It was Kakashi.

A gasp escaped Sasuke, while I, much more embarrassed, hummed a sort of "Aah-ahhh-hahh!" sound out of my mouth as my eyes widened, and a shudder passed through me involuntarily. He turned his one eye on us – the other was hidden behind swooping locks of platinum hair – and nobody spoke for a while. I was sure that the sound of my heartbeat could've been heard in China; as it was, I could quite easily hear Sasuke's, though he was right on top of me, so that probably wasn't so significant. After an endless stretch of silence passed between us, his cheeks rose, which I knew meant he was smiling behind his dark blue scarf.

"Naruto, hello. Sorry I barged in; I should have knocked."

I nodded at him, still rather stunned. "H-hey... Kakashi..."

He placed his arms on his hips and looked right at Sasuke, who was trembling the smallest bit, I noted. "Hi, it's nice to meet you. I'm Naruto's uncle, Kakashi. Though, I suppose my name's not so important as yours." Sasuke slowly, awkwardly, scrambled off of me, probably still suffering from the same shock I was, and stood, straight-backed, next to the couch.

"Uchiha Sasuke... sir. I... um...?"

Kakashi laughed suddenly. Sasuke and I both loosed a sigh of relief before the silver-haired man spoke again. "An Uchiha? You're that Itachi kid's brother, am I correct?" Sasuke gavce a shell-shocked, though I couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at the prospect of Itachi being called a 'kid'. "I knew Itachi once! We haven't spoken in years... perhaps we'll have to catch up, then." He peered around Sasuke at me. "So, I you two are... yeah. Couch score, then?"

I blushed furiously, and Sasuke turned to me, wearing a look that portrayed a combination of anger and embarrassment. "_That_ was what that note was about? You idiot! Y-you should've said _something!"_

"How was I supposed to tell you _that?"_ I asked defensively. "'Oh, hey Sasuke, we should clean up better next time, my Uncle says the room smells like sex.' The hell am I supposed to say?"

_"WHAT?"_ he raged. "And... you _ate_ it! Eww! And I feel like I'm left out of all this! Anything more I should know about it?"

"No! And it's not like I memorized the whole thing anyway!"

We continued to bicker for another minute or two before Kakashi cleared his thoat and we quieted down quickly, returning our attention to the silver-haired man. "Well, I'll let you two sort out your lover's spat later," he said, eliciting a blush from me. "But for now... want to tell me how this," he gestured between me and Sasuke. "Happened?"

Sasuke narrowed his eyes, probably not impressed by his first meeting with Kakashi. "Is that a question or a command?" he asked skeptically. Sasuke, er, didn't like being ordered around. Kakashi raised his hands and waived them in front of his torso, closing his eyes – or, the visible on, at least – and looking away.

"No, no," he assured us. "A simple inquiry is all. After all, I _am_ Naruto's guardian – it's my job to be here if something big develops and he wants to tell me about it." He shrugged at both of us. "If it's _so_ offensive, though, I'll just skip ahead to how other things are going."

"Oh," Sasuke murmured, then looked at me. I scrunched my legs up to my chest to make room, and he dropped onto the couch next to me. "Uh, sorry."

"You're fine," Kakashi said, smiling. "Naruto?"

"Oh!" I responded, remembering that he was mainly addressing _me._ "Well, sure. It's kind of a long story, though."

"I've got time," he promised me, settling more comfortably into the chair he'd occupied.

Sasuke and I recounted the tale to him, one often correcting the other and punching each other in the arm when we were nearing a confidential part of the story. Kakashi nodded along, asking the occasional question. He seemed pretty surprised when he heard about the relationship Sasuke had with Itachi, but didn't dwell on it for too long. Finally, we caught up to the present, after much argument and awkward quickie-make-ups on our part. Kakashi grinned at us.

"Sounds like quite a story!" he exclaimed. Unsure of how to react to this, I sort of nodded sheepishly while Sasuke simply stared at him, unblinking. "Well, seems like you're getting on alright, blondy," he said, standing up and ruffling my hair. "Guess I'll just let you two get back to your... uh..."

"Oh! Right," I laughed nervously. "Bye now, Kakashi!"

He waved and slipped out without another word, obviously not weirded out in the slightest by the whole encounter. I swear, that guy was a freakin' psychopath. Sasuke's voice roused me from my musings.

"So, that was your crazy uncle?" he asked. "He makes good cookies, then."

I laughed. "Yeah, that was the one. He's a freak, though – like, all the time. And _really_ obsessed with porn, believe it or not." Sasuke raised an eyebrow.

"I'd forgotten that little detail, but thanks for reminding me." He suddenly smirked slyly. "And, speaking of porn..."

And thus the whipped cream can made its triumphant return.

* * *

It seemed like Sasuke's perpetual bad mood had improved by the next day at school, and that continued all through the rest of the week. In fact, to my surprise, he'd even made the outgoing gesture of inviting me to his _own_ house – imagine that, not being at my apartment for once, such a shocker – and that was where I'd been spending my Saturday morning. I'd arrived at around ten, at which point Itachi had been off with his college buddy, Kisame, so Sasuke and I had had the house all to ourselves. There was some light-hearted gaming, and we ended up on his bed, listening to his iPod, when Itachi walked in. Sasuke's almost-semi-relatively-happy-maybe mood instantly disappeared, replaced by a scowl that was only visible for a minute before he rolled over on the bed, blocking both my and Itachi's view of his face.

"Sasuke," I sighed. "Don't be so pathetic."

"Shut up, idiot." I felt the bed move as he winced; maybe he hadn't quite meant for the harsh edge to permeate his tone. However, he certainly intended for us to hear it when he addressed Itachi, adding on to his previous command, "Get out of here."

"No, Sasuke," Itachi replied, shaking his head, though he knew Sasuke couldn't see it. "There's something that I've really got to talk to you about."

I looked back and forth between the two of this. What was this, a fucking soap opera?

"Sasuke, quit being such a woman," I told him bluntly. "And, no offense, Itachi, but... I'm really pretty sure that Sasuke doesn't wanna see you. Sorry." Itachi sighed in defeat.

"I know, but... this'll just take a moment." I shrugged.

"Suit yourself. If you want to deal with him while he's whining, more power to you." That earned me a sharp kick in the side from Sasuke, to which I responded with a half-assed punch that barely glanced off his shoulder. Stupid teme, why didn't I have the heart to hit him? Oh, yeah – because he was upset. Right.

"Sasuke..."

Itachi moved all the way into the room, and sat on the end of the bed next to Sasuke and me. Sasuke simply grunted and turned the volume up on his iPod, loud enough that Itachi could hear it even without an earbud, apparently, because he fixed his brother with a stern look and said, "You'll go deaf."

"Wouldn't have to listen to you anymore," Sasuke retorted sourly. Itachi sighed.

"Look, what I wanted to talk to you about... Sasuke, will you be the best man at my wedding?"

Immediately, Sasuke shot up, shock written all over his face. _"What?"_

Itachi shrugged, looking uncomfortable, and opened his mouth to speak, but nothing came out. I could sympathize; I knew what it meant to be on the receiving end of the Uchiha glare, and, let me say again, _not_ a fun experience. It also tended to leave one tongue-tied, and this was an _awfully_ delicate situation Itachi was trying to explain here. I didn't blame him for not knowing what to say.

"You actually think," Sasuke began. "That I'd _ever_ want to be involved in that? What would give you that idea? I mean, _come on! _Haven't I made it clear that I _hate_ you? I _despise _you? Or have I not been straightforward enough? Though, I doubt that's the case; you're a smart enough guy, you shoul-"

"Oh, _shut up!"_ I interjected. "I'm sick of all this _bullshit,_ Sasuke!" The raven in question turned to me, surprised.

"Stay out of this, dobe!" he commanded, but I shook my head vehemently. I wouldn't back down from this.

"You don't hate Itachi, and you _know it_, too!" I shouted back. "You say you do, but it's only because you have no-one else to blame for all the family crap you've had to go through, and guess what? Your family life kinda sucked when you were little! I get that, I do. Going around and making Itachi's life miserable, though... that just makes you a douche bag." My epistle had been filled with wild, angry gesticulations, but now I simply shrugged, showing that I was at a loss as to what to follow that with. If he didn't come to his senses soon, I wouldn't know what to do with him, _ever._

It was Sasuke's turn to be at a loss of words. He simply stared, once uttering a small, "I... um," before falling silent again. Itachi broke the silence after a tense moment.

"Sasuke," he pleaded. "I know I'm not your favorite person in the world, but... this is my wedding, and it would mean so much to me, more than you can ever know, if you were there to support this as my best man." He attached a pleading smile to the end.

Sasuke remained silent. Eager to push this in the right direction, I nudged him in the ribs. "This is the part where you say yes," I supplied in a none-too-covert whisper. He glanced sideways at me before returning his gaze to Itachi, at whom he directed a hard gaze.

"She really means that much to you?"

Itachi nodded. "She really does."

A moment passed. Then another. And finally, "If that's the case, fine."

I smiled, and Itachi let out a relieved sigh, hissing a "yes!" as he did so. "Thank you, Sasuke!" he rejoiced. Before I knew what was happening, he was sitting between us, wrapping both his arms around his brother. Sasuke frowned and winced as Itachi placed his chin atop the younger Uchiha's head, but made no move to push Itachi away. I held in a laugh.

When Itachi was gone, having run off to call Deidara and tell her the good news, I poked Sasuke in the arm. He looked over at me inquisitively, and I asked smugly, "Now, was that so hard?"

"Yes."

"Teme."

* * *

Five months later, school was coming to an end. Shikamaru and Ino were the 'problem' couple; there was always some sort of drama going on with them. Ino constantly complained that Shika was too lazy, too plain, too boring. Shikamaru hated the way she nagged him. Ino was jealous of his good grades and upset that, whenever he tried to tutor her, it ended in him sleeping away on her couch. Shikamaru was sick of hearing gossip shoot through her mouth like a dart.

They were in true love.

Any fight they got into, any period they went through where speaking to each other was unthinkable, every rage Ino flew into and every exasperated sigh Shika let loose meant as little as nothing when they finally made up. No, that's not right- it meant everything. They learned from their mistakes, learned more about each other than five _years_ of friendship had taught them, and truly found out what made the other tick. Ino apparently liked to have Shikamaru give her makeovers. She had an S&M (hah, nice find, Shika), a thing for purple hair dye, and was a firm believer in liking an artist for their music, not their private life.

Shika, according to Ino, really wasn't as lazy as he seemed. He was always calling her, texting her, asking her if she needed anything, if she wanted to hang out after school. He made a real effort to keep their relationship alive, to make her happy and be sure that she was okay. If anything bad happened, if anything upset her, he could tell just by looking at her, and immediately, he'd know what to do. He'd put his arm around her and wait until she was ready to talk; he never started, never asked, "What's wrong?", because if she wanted to say anything, she would. He sat through her girl talks and drove her all around, even allowed himself to be dragged along on shopping trips if she really wanted him to go.

They hit their bumps, but they were perfect for each other in the end.

Kiba and Hinata were the sweetest thing to come out of Konoha high in what must have been all of eternity. Kiba would feed her and make her blush the same way she used to around me, popping a grape in her mouth that she would barely be able to swallow through embarrassed giggles. She, on the other hand, progressively grew more confident. He taught her a few soccer techniques and quickly took to it; she even made the school team. Left defender, and _not_ one to be messed with.

Kiba would be there at every game, rooting for her. No matter what came up, no matter what other plans he might have had, no matter what his parents wanted him to do, he was there, cheering the loudest. Akamaru loved her to death, especially her hair; he'd snuffle in it and lick her face, and I could resist a chuckle when she froze, obviously not knowing how to react to it, no matter how often he did it.

She had kept up with his sports, as well. All wrestling season, she'd watched him advance to the head of the team, taking down opponent upon opponent with fierce aggression, canine reflexes, and the infamous growl that gurgled from his throat whenever he was facing a tough challenger. They were, in short, one of the cutest couples I'd ever been luck enough to know.

One day, I unlocked my mailbox to find something curious in there. A letter stating the return address to be Sasuke's house. When I opened the envelope, however, it wasn't Sasuke, but Itachi who seemed to have sent the letter; it was a wedding invitation. I grinned to myself; the theme was perfect. Blue and brown fit them well.

As I spent more and more time with Sasuke's family, I began to gradually feel like it was my own. Sasuke and Itachi still bickered often, but Sasuke didn't emit the same air of contempt; it was more like any average sibling rivalry, though one that flared perhaps a bit more often than most did. Another perk was getting to know Deidara better; she was a wonderful person. Very funny, and all-around sweet, though she wasn't afraid to show her sinister side. Often, when she was dissatisfied with a sculpture she'd created, she'd fly into a rage, screaming and throwing things around until she finally just dragged it into the backyard and set it off with a stick of dynamite. I felt sort of bad, but I thought it was extremely cool. Sasuke just rolled his eyes.

Sasuke had been less hostile toward Deidara as well. He still didn't particularly approve of Itachi's taste in women, but he'd come to realize that Dei really _was_ serious about Itachi, and that she cared about him deeply, as deeply as itachi cared for her. There were no more insults thrown at her from his direction unless they were light or teasing.

Finally, Sasuke and I were happy. Nothing in the way, not a cloud in our figurative sky. Our friends were happy for us, and we were toying with the idea of getting an apartment together after senior year, as we were hopefully going to the same college.

Sasuke was over on a bright Saturday afternoon to review some English we'd learned a few months ago; we couldn't have me failing my EOCs, could we? "Dobe," he muttered, tapping a pencil to his chin in thought. "Get my notes out of my bag, would you?"

"Blah. Fine," I conceded, heaving myself off of the couch and walking lazily over to his school bag. Folders and binders were squeezed in between a text book and a fancy camera. As I dug around in the bottom, something weird and almost... cylindrical (?) brushed my hand. Curious, I took the object up, pulling it out carefully in case it was something breakable.

To my surprise, it was a roll of Kodak film. I stared in surprise at the thing, mind suddenly flashing back to the first encounter I'd had with Sasuke in the park many months ago. "Naruto!" he called, wrenching my from my thoughts. "Did you find them okay?"

"Yeah," I called, grabbing the folder he needed. "Be right there." I gave the roll of film another quick glance before dropping it back into his bag, and I smiled, hopping up to return to my favorite place in the world, his side.

* * *

**A/N: And so we reach the conclusion of Kodak. Is there a way to do an emoticon that's happy and sad at the same time? Here, I'll try...**

**:(D**

**...okay, it didn't work XD**

**But really, it's sort of bittersweet to have finally reached the end of such a big project for me. At the same time, though, I'm glad it's done; time to take a break! lol ;)**

**I've really appreciated all the positive feedback and the concrit I've recieved, and every single one of you, lovely readers, has a place in my heart, whether you reviewed, faved, alerted, or just read. Thanks for sticking with me all this time, I love you guys ;)**

**Signing off,**

**Slashy**


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